Magnetic fields in molecular clouds: Regulators of star formation

2008 ◽  
pp. 297-312
Author(s):  
Telemachos Ch. Mouschovias
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds

Twinkle little stars: Massive stars are quenched in strong magnetic fields

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (A30) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Fatemeh S. Tabatabaei ◽  
M. Almudena Prieto ◽  
Juan A. Fernández-Ontiveros
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Formation Efficiency

AbstractThe role of the magnetic fields in the formation and quenching of stars with different mass is unknown. We studied the energy balance and the star formation efficiency in a sample of molecular clouds in the central kpc region of NGC 1097, known to be highly magnetized. Combining the full polarization VLA/radio continuum observations with the HST/Hα, Paα and the SMA/CO lines observations, we separated the thermal and non-thermal synchrotron emission and compared the magnetic, turbulent, and thermal pressures. Most of the molecular clouds are magnetically supported against gravitational collapse needed to form cores of massive stars. The massive star formation efficiency of the clouds also drops with the magnetic field strength, while it is uncorrelated with turbulence (Tabatabaei et al. 2018). The inefficiency of the massive star formation and the low-mass stellar population in the center of NGC 1097 can be explained in the following steps: I) Magnetic fields supporting the molecular clouds prevent the collapse of gas to densities needed to form massive stars. II) These clouds can then be fragmented into smaller pieces due to e.g., stellar feedback, non-linear perturbations and instabilities leading to local, small-scale diffusion of the magnetic fields. III) Self-gravity overcomes and the smaller clouds seed the cores of the low-mass stars.

scholarly journals Magnetic Fields in Molecular Clouds

2004 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Tyler L. Bourke ◽  
Alyssa A. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
Protoplanetary Disks ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
Dense Cores

Magnetic fields are believed to play an important role in the evolution of molecular clouds, from their large scale structure to dense cores, protostellar envelopes, and protoplanetary disks. How important is unclear, and whether magnetic fields are the dominant force driving star formation at any scale is also unclear. In this review we examine the observational data which address these questions, with particular emphasis on high angular resolution observations. Unfortunately the data do not clarify the situation. It is clear that the fields are important, but to what degree we don't yet know. Observations to date have been limited by the sensitivity of available telescopes and instrumentation. In the future ALMA and the SKA in particular should provide great advances in observational studies of magnetic fields, and we discuss which observations are most desirable when they become available.

scholarly journals Massive core/star formation triggered by cloud–cloud collision: Effect of magnetic field

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirmit Sakre ◽  
Asao Habe ◽  
Alex R Pettitt ◽  
Takashi Okamoto
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Strong Magnetic Field ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Weak Magnetic Field ◽  
Dense Cores ◽  
Cloud Models ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

Abstract We study the effect of magnetic field on massive dense core formation in colliding unequal molecular clouds by performing magnetohydrodynamic simulations with sub-parsec resolution (0.015 pc) that can resolve the molecular cores. Initial clouds with the typical gas density of the molecular clouds are immersed in various uniform magnetic fields. The turbulent magnetic fields in the clouds consistent with the observation by Crutcher et al. (2010, ApJ, 725, 466) are generated by the internal turbulent gas motion before the collision, if the uniform magnetic field strength is 4.0 μG. The collision speed of 10 km s−1 is adopted, which is much larger than the sound speeds and the Alfvén speeds of the clouds. We identify gas clumps with gas densities greater than 5 × 10−20 g cm−3 as the dense cores and trace them throughout the simulations to investigate their mass evolution and gravitational boundness. We show that a greater number of massive, gravitationally bound cores are formed in the strong magnetic field (4.0 μG) models than the weak magnetic field (0.1 μG) models. This is partly because the strong magnetic field suppresses the spatial shifts of the shocked layer that should be caused by the nonlinear thin shell instability. The spatial shifts promote the formation of low-mass dense cores in the weak magnetic field models. The strong magnetic fields also support low-mass dense cores against gravitational collapse. We show that the numbers of massive, gravitationally bound cores formed in the strong magnetic field models are much larger than in the isolated, non-colliding cloud models, which are simulated for comparison. We discuss the implications of our numerical results on massive star formation.

Fossil magnetic fields and rotation of early-type stars

1994 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 184-185
Author(s):  
A.E. Dudorov
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Early Type ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Early Type Stars ◽  
Quadrupole Magnetic Field ◽  
Interstellar Molecular Clouds

Observational data of the last 10 years allow two main conclusions:a) Main sequence stars can be separated in two classes: - magnetic (Bp) stars with surface strengths of a dipole or quadrupole magnetic field of Bs ≈ n · (102 − 103) G, n = 2,3,4…7, and - normal main sequence stars (F-O) with magnetic fields Bs ≈ 1 − 100 G (< 300 G);b) Typical star formation takes place in interstellar molecular clouds with magnetic field strengths B ≈ 10-5 G (See Dudorov 1990).

scholarly journals Three-dimensional MHD simulations of molecular cloud fragmentation regulated by gravity, ambipolar diffusion, and turbulence

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 115-116
Author(s):  
Takahiro Kudoh ◽  
Shantanu Basu
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Molecular Cloud ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Core Formation ◽  
Mhd Simulations ◽  
Dimensional Simulation

AbstractWe find that the star formation is accelerated by the supersonic turbulence in the magnetically dominated (subcritical) clouds. We employ a fully three-dimensional simulation to study the role of magnetic fields and ion-neutral friction in regulating gravitationally driven fragmentation of molecular clouds. The time-scale of collapsing core formation in subcritical clouds is a few ×107 years when starting with small subsonic perturbations. However, it is shortened to approximately several ×106 years by the supersonic flows in the clouds. We confirm that higher-spacial resolution simulations also show the same result.

scholarly journals The Role of Magnetic Fields in Star Formation

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S302) ◽  
pp. 10-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph E. Pudritz ◽  
Mikhail Klassen ◽  
Helen Kirk ◽  
Daniel Seifried ◽  
Robi Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Jets And Outflows ◽  
Radiation Fields

AbstractStars are born in turbulent, magnetized filamentary molecular clouds, typically as members of star clusters. Several remarkable technical advances enable observations of magnetic structure and field strengths across many physical scales, from galactic scales on which giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are assembled, down to the surfaces of magnetized accreting young stars. These are shedding new light on the role of magnetic fields in star formation. Magnetic fields affect the gravitational fragmentation and formation of filamentary molecular clouds, the formation and fragmentation of magnetized disks, and finally to the shedding of excess angular momentum in jets and outflows from both the disks and young stars. Magnetic fields play a particularly important role in angular momentum transport on all of these scales. Numerical simulations have provided an important tool for tracking the complex process of the collapse and evolution of protostellar gas since several competing physical processes are at play - turbulence, gravity, MHD, and radiation fields. This paper focuses on the role of magnetic fields in three crucial regimes of star formation: the formation of star clusters emphasizing fragmentation, disk formation and the origin of early jets and outflows, to processes that control the spin evolution of young stars.

Formation of structure in star-forming clouds

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 808-823
Author(s):  
Ralph E. Pudritz
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Fundamental Theory ◽  
Wave Pressure ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Effective Wave ◽  
Hydromagnetic Waves

Star formation occurs in massive, dense, molecular clouds in the interstellar medium. These clouds have a rich substructure consisting of dense clumps and extended filaments. Since stars only form within these dense clumps, any fundamental theory of star formation must predict their physical properties. This review focusses on the physics of molecular clouds and discusses in this context a particular mechanism for the formation of structure that is well supported by the observations. Strong hydromagnetic waves are likely to be excited in molecular clouds since it is observed that cloud magnetic fields have energy densities close to gravity. These waves support the cloud against global gravitational collapse by providing an effective wave "pressure". This review also shows that waves may control the formation of structure in molecular clouds.

scholarly journals Magnetic fields and the dynamics of molecular clouds

1991 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
J. L. Puget
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Velocity Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transverse Waves ◽  
Analytical Approximations ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Magnetic fields are believed to play an important role in the star formation process. Correlations in the velocity field in molecular filaments are indicative of dynamical interactions between clouds and parts within a cloud. The magnetic field is a likely candidate as the vector of such interactions. Perturbations of the field at large scales can feed the velocity dispersion within condensations at small scale. This mechanism is discussed in the framework of two simple analytical approximations describing transverse waves fed into plane parallel slabs.

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