Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Astronomy

Supervisor

Shantanu Basu

Abstract

Linear analysis of the formation of protostellar cores in planar magnetic interstellar clouds shows that molecular clouds exhibit a preferred length scale for collapse that depends on the mass-to-flux ratio and neutral-ion collision time within the cloud. This linear analysis can be used to investigate the formation of star forming clusters and the distribution of mass within star forming regions. By combining the results of the linear analysis with a realistic ionization profile for the cloud, we find that a molecular cloud may evolve through two fragmentation events in the evolution toward the formation of stars. Our model suggests that the initial fragmentation into clumps occurs for a transcritical cloud on parsec scales while the second fragmentation can occur for transcritical and supercritical cores on subparsec scales. Comparison of our results with several star forming regions (Perseus, Taurus, Pipe Nebula) shows support for a two-stage fragmentation model. Simulations of the thin-disk magnetohydrodynamic equations show that the two-stage fragmentation model is valid for a small region of parameter space assuming some form of recurrent density fluctuations within the region.

In addition, applying Monte Carlo methods to these fragmentation length scales and distributions of other environmental variables (e.g., column density and mass-to-flux ratio) allow us to produce synthetic core mass functions (CMFs) for various environmental conditions. Our analysis shows that the shape of the CMF is directly dependent on the physical conditions of the cloud. Specifically, magnetic fields act to broaden the mass function and develop a high-mass tail while ambipolar diffusion will truncate this high-mass tail. We also analyze the effect of small number statistics on the shape and high-mass slope of the synthetic CMFs. We find that observed core mass functions are severely statistically limited, which has a profound effect on the derived slope for the high-mass tail.

Download

Share

COinS