Publication: The Formation of Star Clusters II. Three-Dimentional Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Molecular Clouds
All || By Area || By Year| Title | The Formation of Star Clusters II. Three-Dimentional Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Molecular Clouds | Authors/Editors* | D.A. Tilley and R.E. Pudritz |
|---|---|
| Where published* | MNRAS |
| How published* | Journal |
| Year* | 2007 |
| Volume | 382 |
| Number | |
| Pages | 73-94 |
| Publisher | |
| Keywords | |
| Link | |
| Abstract |
We present a series of turbulence simulations that represent a cluster-forming clump within a molecular cloud, investigating the role of magnetic fields on the formation of potential star-forming cores. We present an exhaustive analysis of numerical data from these simulations that includes the distributions of core masses, radii, mean density, angular momenta, spins and magnetizations. The simulations range between 5-30 Jeans masses of gas, and are representative of molecular cloud clumps with masses between 100â1000Mâ. The field strengths in the bound cores that form tend to have the same ratio of gas pressure to magnetic pressure, β, as the mean β of the simulation. Thus, in order to explain the large magnetizations seen in Zeeman measurements of molecular cloud cores, a significant number of initial Jeans masses is needed in order to ensure that the simulations are sufficiently supercritical. Clouds that are only slightly supercritical will instead collapse along the field lines into sheets, and the cores that form as these sheets fragment have a different distribution of masses than what is observed. The spin rates of these cores (wherein 20-40% of cores have tff 0.2) suggests that subsequent fragmentation into multiple systems is likely. The sizes of the bound cores that are produced are typically 0.02-0.2 pc and have densities in the range 104 â 105 cmâ3 in agreement with observational surveys. |
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