Molecular clouds are the coldest structures of the interstellar medium, where new stars are born. Molecular clouds consist of about 99 percent molecular gas and 1 percent interstellar dust in mass. This gas and dust form the main ingredients for newly born stars. One interesting feature of molecular clouds is their filamentary structures, which are thought to be shaped by the interplay between magnetic fields and turbulence. It remains an open question whether magnetic fields or turbulence play a more dominant role.

Our team investigates how magnetic fields affect the formation of molecular clouds and the birth of new stars. Using radio polarimetric observations, we study the magnetic fields in nearby molecular clouds and infer their relative importance in the star formation process. Additionally, we participate in the international BISTRO (B-fields In STar-forming Region Observation) survey, which observes molecular clouds to explore the role of magnetic fields in star formation (e.g., D. Ward-Thompson et al., 2017).