The ODYSSEUS Survey. Spatial Correlation of Magnetospheric Inclinations Points to Parsec-scale Star–Cloud Connection

Abstract The properties of stars and planets are shaped by the initial conditions of their natal clouds. However, the spatial scales over which the initial conditions can exert a significant influence are not well constrained. We report the first evidence for parsec-scale spatial correlations of stellar magnetospheric inclinations ( i mag ), observed in the Lupus low-mass star-forming region. Applying consensus clustering with a hierarchical density-based clustering algorithm, we demonstrate that the detected spatial dependencies are stable against perturbations by measurement uncertainties. The i mag correlation scales are on the order of ∼3 pc, which aligns with the typical scales of the Lupus molecular cloud filaments. Our results reveal a connection between large-scale forces—in the form of expanding shells from the Upper Scorpius and Upper Centaurus–Lupus regions—and sub-au-scale system configurations. We find that Lupus has a nonuniform i mag distribution and suggest that this results from the preferential elongation of protostellar cores along filamentary axes. Nonuniformity would have significant implications for exoplanet occurrence rate calculations, so future work should explore the longevity of these biases driven by the star–cloud connection.