EPoS
EPoS Contribution

Radiation Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Protostellar Core Formation

Kengo Tomida
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies / National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Collapse of molecular cloud cores has been well studied so far, but there has been no multidimensional simulation which directly resolves the protostellar core including both magnetic fields and radiation transfer. Radiation transfer plays a crucial role in the thermal evolution in protostellar collapse, and magnetic fields are of critical importance in the angular momentum transport, therefore these physical processes must be properly considered in numerical simulations. In this presentation, we report our latest results of 3D nested-grid radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the formation of proto- stellar cores from molecular cloud cores with and without Ohmic dissipation of magnetic fields. In the ideal RMHD models, the evolution of the protostellar core is very similar to that in the spherically symmetric non-rotating model due to the efficient angular momentum transport. However, if the resistivity presents, the angular momentum transport is considerably suppressed due to the loss of magnetic flux, and rotationally-supported circumstellar disks are rapidly built up in the vicinity of the protostellar cores. Magnetic fields are amplified by rotation and fast outflows are launched from the protostellar cores via magnetic pressure gradient force. To our knowledge, these are the first 3D RMHD simulations resolving the protostellar cores in the world.
Collaborators:
K. Tomisaka, NAOJ, Japan
T. Matsumoto, Hosei University, Japan
Y. Hori, NAOJ, Japan
S. Okuzumi, Nagoya University, Japan
M. N. Machida, Kyushu University, Japan
K. Saigo, NAOJ, Japan