Physics
Scientific paper
Apr 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994natur.368..719m&link_type=abstract
Nature, Volume 368, Issue 6473, pp. 719-721 (1994).
Physics
52
Scientific paper
STARS form inside dense clouds of molecular gas, but the details of the process, such as the quantity of gas that goes into stars and the rate at which the gas collapses, are still unknown. The earliest stages of cloud collapse are particularly poorly understood; some theoretical models exist1-4, but there has been no observational evidence to support them. Here we report molecular emission-line data from the Taurus molecular cloud, which allows us to follow the earliest stages of cloud collapse. We find, contrary to previous results5, that the cloud cores without young stars are less dense and more extended than those with stars, and that the timescale of core collapse suggested by the data is a few hundred thousand years. This is in good agreement with a model in which the formation rate of low-mass stars is controlled by ambipolar diffusion- the relative drift of neutral molecules with respect to magnetic field lines in the cloud1-3.
Fukui Yasuo
Hasegawa Tetsuo
Hayashi Masahiko
Mizuno Akira
Ohashi Nagoyashi
No associations
LandOfFree
Molecular cloud condensation as a tracer of low-mass star formation does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Molecular cloud condensation as a tracer of low-mass star formation, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Molecular cloud condensation as a tracer of low-mass star formation will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1261160