Magnetic Braking, Ambipolar Diffusion, and the Formation of Cloud Cores and Protostars

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Scientific paper

We follow the formation and contraction of fragments (or cores) in isothermal, rotating, magnetic molecular clouds to a central density enhancement of 10(6) (e.g. from 10(3) cm(-3) to 10(9) cm(-3) ). Initial states are exact equilibria with magnetic, centrifugal, and thermal-pressure forces balancing self-gravity. The evolution of a typical cloud away from equilibrium is due to magnetic braking (the transport of angular momentum by torsional Alfven waves) and ambipolar diffusion (the relative drift between plasma and neutrals). A core forms and evolves quasistatically, with ambipolar diffusion increasing its mass-to-flux ratio and magnetic braking keeping the whole cloud near corotation with the galactic background. The core enters a dynamic collapse phase after the mass-to-flux ratio becomes supercritical. During this phase, the evolution of the core is characterized by trapping of magnetic flux and angular momentum. We find that the angular momentum problem of star formation is essentially resolved by magnetic braking during the quasistatic phase. The specific angular momentum in the supercritical core at the end of the run is comparable to that of observed wide binaries. The interplay of magnetic braking and ambipolar diffusion determines the final mass and angular momentum in the collapsing core.

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