Related papers: On estimating angular momenta of infalling protost…
We present the results of a suite of numerical simulations designed to explore the origin of the angular momenta of protostellar cores. Using the hydrodynamic grid code \emph{Athena} with a sink implementation, we follow the formation of…
A fundamental issue in star formation is understanding the precise mechanisms leading to the formation of prestellar cores, and their subsequent gravitationally unstable evolution. To address this question, we carefully construct a suite of…
Using hydrodynamic simulations we investigate the rotational properties and angular momentum evolution of prestellar and protostellar cores formed from gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. We find the specific angular…
Molecular clouds are observed to be turbulent, but the origin of this turbulence is not well understood. As a result, there are two different approaches to simulating molecular clouds, one in which the turbulence is allowed to decay after…
In this study we investigate the formation and properties of prestellar and protostellar cores using hydrodynamic, self-gravitating Adaptive Mesh Refinement simulations, comparing the cases where turbulence is continually driven and where…
In this study, we investigate the shapes of starless and protostellar cores using hydrodynamic, self-gravitating adaptive mesh refinement simulations of turbulent molecular clouds. We simulate observations of these cores in dust emission,…
Building on our previous hydrodynamic study of the angular momenta of cloud cores formed during gravitational collapse of star-forming molecular gas in our previous work, we now examine core properties assuming ideal magnetohydrodynamics…
We analyze an ensemble of simulated prestellar cores to facilitate interpretation of structure, kinematics, and lifetime of observed cores. While our theory predicts a "characteristic" density for star formation, it also predicts that the…
The rotational properties of centrally condensed, turbulent molecular cloud cores with velocity fields that are characterized by Gaussian random fields are investigated. It is shown that the observed line width-size relationship can be…
The angular momentum of molecular cloud cores plays an essential role in the star formation process. However, the time evolution of the angular momentum of molecular cloud cores is still unclear. In this paper, we perform three-dimensional…
(Abridged) We present a series of decaying 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…
Planet-forming disks are fundamental objects thought to be inherited from large scale rotation, through the conservation of angular momentum during the collapse of a prestellar dense core. We investigate the possibility for a protostellar…
We present the results of a series of numerical simulations of compressible, self-gravitating hydrodynamic turbulence of cluster-forming clumps in molecular clouds. We examine the role that turbulence has in the formation of gravitationally…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
We investigate prestellar core formation and accretion based on three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Our simulations represent local $\sim 1$pc regions within giant molecular clouds where a supersonic turbulent flow converges,…
We present a detailed study of the collapse of molecular cloud cores using high resolution 3D adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) numerical simulations. In this first in a series of investigations our initial conditions consists of spherical…
Improving our understanding of the initial conditions and earliest stages of star formation is crucial to gain insight into the origin of stellar masses, multiple systems, and protoplanetary disks. We review the properties of low-mass dense…
Angular momentum plays a crucial role in the formation of stars and planets. It has long been noticed that parcels of gas in molecular clouds need to reduce their specific angular momentum by 6 to 7 orders of magnitude to participate in the…
The nature of turbulence in molecular clouds is one of the key parameters that control star formation efficiency: compressive motions, as opposed to solenoidal motions, can trigger the collapse of cores, or mark the expansion of Hii…
We present measurements of the mean dense core lifetimes in numerical simulations of magnetically supercritical, turbulent, isothermal molecular clouds, in order to compare with observational determinations. "Prestellar" lifetimes (given as…