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.

scholarly journals Submillimeter Array Observations of Magnetic Fields in Star Forming Regions

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S270) ◽  
pp. 103-106
Author(s):  
R. Rao ◽  
J.-M. Girart ◽  
D. P. Marrone
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Low Mass

AbstractThere have been a number of theoretical and computational models which state that magnetic fields play an important role in the process of star formation. Competing theories instead postulate that it is turbulence which is dominant and magnetic fields are weak. The recent installation of a polarimetry system at the Submillimeter Array (SMA) has enabled us to conduct observations that could potentially distinguish between the two theories. Some of the nearby low mass star forming regions show hour-glass shaped magnetic field structures that are consistent with theoretical models in which the magnetic field plays a dominant role. However, there are other similar regions where no significant polarization is detected. Future polarimetry observations made by the Submillimeter Array should be able to increase the sample of observed regions. These measurements will allow us to address observationally the important question of the role of magnetic fields and/or turbulence in the process of star formation.

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 Magnetic Fields in Dark Cloud Cores and H2O Masers

1990 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 305-308
Author(s):  
Rolf Güsten ◽  
Dirk Fiebig
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Field Strength ◽  
Kinetic Temperature ◽  
Dark Cloud ◽  
Dense Cores ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Cloud Cores ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Magnetic Field

We present results of recent circular polarization experiments with the MPIfR 100-m telescope, revealing for the first time, the magnetic field strength towards interstellar H2O masers and the dense cores of local dark cloud complexes. Weak Zeeman splittings of a few 10 kHz only in the 22.235 GHz maser transition of the non-paramagnetic H2O molecule imply magnetic field strengths of ~ 50 mG in the dense (n ~ 1010 cm−3) masing layer. With the recently identified CCS radical it became possible to study the magnetic field associated with dense (~ 105 cm−3) dark cloud cores, the potential sites of future star formation. We report the detection of a −110μG field towards TMC-1C, a low-mass core associated with the Taurus Molecular Cloud. From complementary gas density and kinetic temperature probing measurements, we derive approximate equipartition between magnetic, gravitational and thermal energy for this clump.

scholarly journals Constraining How Star Formation Proceeds: Surveys in the Sub-mm and FIR

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 406-407
Author(s):  
Doug Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Dense Cores ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
High Column

AbstractCoordinated multi-wavelength surveys of molecular clouds are providing strong constraints on the physical conditions within low-mass star-forming regions. In this manner, Perseus and Ophiuchus have been exceptional laboratories for testing the earliest phases of star formation. Highlights of these results are: (1) dense cores form only in high column density regions, (2) dense cores contain only a few percent of the cloud mass, (3) the mass distribution of the dense cores is similar to the IMF, (4) the more massive cores are most likely to contain embedded protostars, and (5) the kinematics of the dense cores and the bulk gas show significant coupling.

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 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.

scholarly journals Testing the Paradigm of Low Mass Star Formation

2004 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 201-212
Author(s):  
Lee Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Standard Model ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Class I ◽  
Stellar Systems ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Core Formation ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Low Mass

Protostellar core formation is probably much more dynamic, and magnetic fields are probably much less important, than has been previously assumed in the standard model of low-mass star formation. This revised picture has important consequences: it is easier to understand the observed rapidity of star formation in molecular clouds; cores are more likely to have structures favoring high infall rates at early times, helping to explain the differences between Class 0 and Class I protostars; and core structure and asymmetry will strongly favor post-collapse fragmentation into binary and multiple stellar systems.

Magnetic Fields and Shocks in Molecular Clouds

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Byleveld ◽  
D. B. Melrose ◽  
H. Pongracic
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds

AbstractWe discuss the expected properties of shocks in molecular clouds when the effect of a magnetic field is included. The results suggest that shocks should have magnetic precursors, and may be C-shocks rather than J-shocks, but the observations are not obviously consistent with this prediction. The effect of these shock properties on cloud collisions triggering star formation is discussed.

scholarly journals Magnetic fields in the non-masing ISM

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S242) ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Richard M. Crutcher
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Field Strength ◽  
Magnetic Field Strength ◽  
Linear Polarization ◽  
Formation Process ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Zeeman Effect ◽  
Flux Ratio

AbstractObservations of the Zeeman effect in OH and H2O masers provide valuable information about magnetic field strength and direction, but only for the very high density gas in which such masers are found. In order to understand the role of magnetic fields in the evolution of the interstellar medium and in the star formation process, it is essential to consider the maser results in the broader context of magnetic fields in lower density gas. This contribution will (very briefly) summarize the state of observational knowledge of magnetic fields in the non-masing gas. Magnetic fields in H I and molecular clouds may be observed via the Zeeman effect, linear polarization of dust emission, and linear polarization of spectral-line emission. Useful parameters that can be inferred from observations are the mass-to-flux ratio and the scaling of field strength with density. The former tells us whether magnetic fields exert sufficient pressure to provide support against gravitational contraction; the latter tells whether or not magnetic fields are sufficiently strong to determine the nature (spherical or disk geometry) of the contraction. Existing observations will be reviewed. Results are that the strength of interstellar magnetic fields remains roughly invariant at 5-10 microgauss between densities of 0.1 cm−3 < n(H) < 1,000 cm−3 but increases proportional to approximately the square root of density at higher densities. Moreover, the mass-to-flux ratio is significantly subcritical (strong magnetic support with respect to gravity) in diffuse H I clouds that are not self-gravitating, but becomes approximately critical in high-density molecular cloud cores. This suggests that MCs and GMCs form primarily by accumulation of matter along magnetic field lines, a process that will increase density but not magnetic field strength. How clumps in GMCs evolve will then depend crucially on the mass-to-flux ratio in each clump. Present data suggest that magnetic fields play a very significant role in the evolution of molecular clouds and in the star formation process.

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