Star formation in a galactic cluster

1979 ◽  
Vol 291 (1380) ◽  
pp. 219-252 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Differential Equations ◽  
Theoretical Prediction ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Interstellar Cloud ◽  
Dissipation Of Energy ◽  
Galactic Cluster ◽  
The Masses

A model has been developed for the collapse of an interstellar cloud with turbulence. The differential equations which describe the evolution of the cloud include ionic and dust cooling and also the dissipation of energy due to the collision of turbulent elements moving at supersonic speeds. Under some conditions the collision of two elements can give rise to a star and the rate of star formation and the mass of the stars formed changes as the cloud collapses. The pattern found is that the stars first produced have masses of about 1.4 M . and the masses get less as star formation continues. Stars produced by this mechanism have little associated angular momentum. Some of the stars which happen to move in high density regions of the cloud may increase their mass greatly by accretion; these stars will be the more massive stars and they will also rotate most rapidly, a theoretical prediction which agrees with observation. On the basis of the model the proportion of stars which would have planetary systems is estimated. This shows that there should be of order 10 6 planetary systems per galaxy.

scholarly journals Effects of initial density profiles on massive star cluster formation in giant molecular clouds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingtian Chen ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Mark Vogelsberger
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
Initial Density ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Stellar Feedback ◽  
Gas Accretion

Abstract We perform a suite of hydrodynamic simulations to investigate how initial density profiles of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) affect their subsequent evolution. We find that the star formation duration and integrated star formation efficiency of the whole clouds are not sensitive to the choice of different profiles but are mainly controlled by the interplay between gravitational collapse and stellar feedback. Despite this similarity, GMCs with different profiles show dramatically different modes of star formation. For shallower profiles, GMCs first fragment into many self-gravitation cores and form sub-clusters that distributed throughout the entire clouds. These sub-clusters are later assembled ‘hierarchically’ to central clusters. In contrast, for steeper profiles, a massive cluster is quickly formed at the center of the cloud and then gradually grows its mass via gas accretion. Consequently, central clusters that emerged from clouds with shallower profiles are less massive and show less rotation than those with the steeper profiles. This is because 1) a significant fraction of mass and angular momentum in shallower profiles is stored in the orbital motion of the sub-clusters that are not able to merge into the central clusters 2) frequent hierarchical mergers in the shallower profiles lead to further losses of mass and angular momentum via violent relaxation and tidal disruption. Encouragingly, the degree of cluster rotations in steeper profiles is consistent with recent observations of young and intermediate-age clusters. We speculate that rotating globular clusters are likely formed via an ‘accretion’ mode from centrally-concentrated clouds in the early Universe.

scholarly journals Angular momentum loss and stellar spin-down in magnetic massive stars

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 423-424
Author(s):  
Asif ud-Doula ◽  
Stanley P. Owocki ◽  
Richard H.D. Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Solid Angle ◽  
Magnetic Confinement ◽  
Dipole Field ◽  
Hot Stars ◽  
Momentum Loss ◽  
Dipole Magnetic Field ◽  
Angular Momentum Loss ◽  
Compare And Contrast

AbstractWe examine the angular momentum loss and associated rotational spin-down for magnetic hot stars with a line-driven stellar wind and a rotation-aligned dipole magnetic field. Our analysis here is based on our previous 2-D numerical MHD simulation study that examines the interplay among wind, field, and rotation as a function of two dimensionless parameters, W(=Vrot/Vorb) and ‘wind magnetic confinement’, η∗ defined below. We compare and contrast the 2-D, time variable angular momentum loss of this dipole model of a hot-star wind with the classical 1-D steady-state analysis by Weber and Davis (WD), who used an idealized monopole field to model the angular momentum loss in the solar wind. Despite the differences, we find that the total angular momentum loss averaged over both solid angle and time follows closely the general WD scaling ~ ṀΩR2A. The key distinction is that for a dipole field Alfvèn radius RA is significantly smaller than for the monopole field WD used in their analyses. This leads to a slower stellar spin-down for the dipole field with typical spin-down times of order 1 Myr for several known magnetic massive stars.

scholarly journals The Formation of Massive Stars

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S270) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
Ian A. Bonnell ◽  
Rowan J Smith
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Prestellar Cores ◽  
Stellar Mergers ◽  
Massive Clusters ◽  
Viable Mechanism

AbstractThere has been considerable progress in our understanding of how massive stars form but still much confusion as to why they form. Recent work from several sources has shown that the formation of massive stars through disc accretion, possibly aided by gravitational and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities is a viable mechanism. Stellar mergers, on the other hand, are unlikely to occur in any but the most massive clusters and hence should not be a primary avenue for massive star formation. In contrast to this success, we are still uncertain as to how the mass that forms a massive star is accumulated. there are two possible mechanisms including the collapse of massive prestellar cores and competitive accretion in clusters. At present, there are theoretical and observational question marks as to the existence of high-mass prestellar cores. theoretically, such objects should fragment before they can attain a relaxed, centrally condensed and high-mass state necessary to form massive stars. Numerical simulations including cluster formation, feedback and magnetic fields have not found such objects but instead point to the continued accretion in a cluster potential as the primary mechanism to form high-mass stars. Feedback and magnetic fields act to slow the star formation process and will reduce the efficiencies from a purely dynamical collapse but otherwise appear to not significantly alter the process.

3. Beautiful theories, ugly facts

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Raymond T. Pierrehumbert
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Protoplanetary Disk ◽  
Newtonian Gravity ◽  
The Sun ◽  
French Mathematician ◽  
Modern Form

‘Beautiful theories, ugly facts’ evaluates the theories on planetary systems, particularly the Solar System. In 1734, the Swedish polymath Emmanuel Swedenborg proposed that the Sun and all the planets condensed out of the same ball of gas, in what is probably the earliest statement of the nebular hypothesis. The nebular hypothesis entered something close to its modern form in the hands of the French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace, who in 1796 made the clear connection to Newtonian gravity. The angular momentum problem and the structure of a protoplanetary disk, the formation of rocky cores, and the gravitational accretion of gas in the disk also come under this topic.

scholarly journals Stellar models and isochrones from low-mass to massive stars including pre-main sequence phase with accretion

2019 ◽  
Vol 624 ◽  
pp. A137 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Haemmerlé ◽  
P. Eggenberger ◽  
S. Ekström ◽  
C. Georgy ◽  
G. Meynet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Range ◽  
Stellar Clusters ◽  
Solar Metallicity ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Stellar Models ◽  
Young Clusters

Grids of stellar models are useful tools to derive the properties of stellar clusters, in particular young clusters hosting massive stars, and to provide information on the star formation process in various mass ranges. Because of their short evolutionary timescale, massive stars end their life while their low-mass siblings are still on the pre-main sequence (pre-MS) phase. Thus the study of young clusters requires consistent consideration of all the phases of stellar evolution. But despite the large number of grids that are available in the literature, a grid accounting for the evolution from the pre-MS accretion phase to the post-MS phase in the whole stellar mass range is still lacking. We build a grid of stellar models at solar metallicity with masses from 0.8 M⊙ to 120 M⊙, including pre-MS phase with accretion. We use the GENEC code to run stellar models on this mass range. The accretion law is chosen to match the observations of pre-MS objects on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We describe the evolutionary tracks and isochrones of our models. The grid is connected to previous MS and post-MS grids computed with the same numerical method and physical assumptions, which provides the widest grid in mass and age to date.

scholarly journals Star Formation

1989 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 56-67
Author(s):  
Francesco Palla
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Strong Tendency ◽  
Fractal Nature ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
Complex Series ◽  
Whole Process

Judging from the poster that the Organizing Committee has selected to announce the celebration of Guido Munch Jubilee, one can easily conclude that the main characteristics of the process of star formation as emerged in recent years through the combined efforts of multiwavelengths studies of molecular clouds, were already known, here in Granada, several centuries ago to the masters who built and enriched the enigmatic palace of the Alhambra. As we can appreciate from a quick inspection of the picture, it is rather obvious to infer that stars are the byproduct of a quite complex series of phenomena, each connected to, and somewhat dependent on, the others. Also, stars do not form in isolation, but rather in clusters or associations, with a strong tendency for the largest ones, also the most massive ones, to sit in the middle of the distribution. Moreover, smaller and less massive stars outnumber their massive counterparts, apparently obeying a power-law distribution. Finally, but with the benefit of doubt, it appears that the idea that the whole process reflects an intrinsic fractal nature was also put forward at the time. With this background in mind, let us now turn to the new emerging aspects of the study of star formation.

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