  Magnetic fields are believed to play a crucial role in the process of star
formation. We compare high-angular resolution observations of the submillimeter
polarized emission of NGC 1333 IRAS 4A, tracing the magnetic field around a
low-mass protostar, with models of the collapse of magnetized molecular cloud
cores. Assuming a uniform dust alignment efficiency, we computed the Stokes
parameters and synthetic polarization maps from the model density and magnetic
field distribution by integrations along the line-of-sight and convolution with
the interferometric response. The synthetic maps are in good agreement with the
data. The best-fitting models were obtained for a protostellar mass of 0.8
solar masses, of age 9e4 yr, formed in a cloud with an initial mass-to-flux
ratio ~2 times the critical value. The magnetic field morphology in NGC 1333
IRAS 4A is consistent with the standard theoretical scenario for the formation
of solar-type stars, where well-ordered, large-scale, rather than turbulent,
magnetic fields control the evolution and collapse of the molecular cloud cores
from which stars form.
