Polarimetric investigation of backround stars in the region of T and RY Tau

Electropolarimetric observations of 97 background stars in the T Tauri/RY Tauri region, obtained with the 40-cm Cassegrain telescope of the Biurakan Astrophysical Observatory in December 1982, are reported and interpreted in terms of local-magnetic-field effects on cometary-nebula bending. The data are presented in a table, and the dependence of polarization position angle on declination is established in a graph and attributed to a continuous variation in the direction of the magnetic field. From the magnitude of the effect, however, it is concluded that the observed bending of the cometary nebulae in the region results from the combined influence of the local magnetic moment and the magnetic moment of the star itself (as proposed by Vardanian, 1983) rather than from the local moment alone. 7 references.