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| EPoS Contribution |
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Understanding the Star Formation Rate
Aake Nordlund Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| We investigate how the Star Formation Rate --- defined here as the rate of gravitational collapse onto sink particles representing proto-stars --- depends on three important dimensionless numbers; 1) the virial number, 2) the sonic Mach number, and 3) the Alfvenic Mach number. We investigate this using computer simulations of supersonic MHD turbulence in a self-gravitating gas representing typical star forming regions. The total rate of conversion of gas into stars is very robust against details of the sink particle recipe. The SFR is significantly lower for MHD conditions typical of molecular clouds, relative to earlier HD results. We derive analytical expressions for the star formation rate that can be used in larger scale modeling of star formation, and in studies of galaxy formation. | |
| Collaborators: P. Padoan, UCSD, USA |
Key publication
Suggested Session: Cores and Collapse, Magnetic Fields, Molecular Clouds, Turbulence |