EPoS Contribution
EPoS Contribution
A simple model for the formation and collapse of molecular cloud cores

Gilberto Gomez
CRyA, UNAM, Morelia, Mexico
We present a simple model for the formation, evolution, and gravitational collapse of quiescent cloud cores induced by dynamical compressions. The model suggests that prestellar cores may internally resemble Bonnor-Ebert spheres, but are really dynamical structures, bounded by ram pressure and with a variable mass, that may or may not undergo gravitational collapse. The model suggests a time delay between the appearance of the core and the onset of its collapse due to its growth in mass, rather than to dissipation of internal support. We also present a semi-analytic model that predicts whether a core immersed in a converging flow will collapse or not, given the parameters of the inflow. It is proposed that the eventual collapse (or lack of it) of a given core might be at least as influenced by its environment as it is by its internal conditions.