Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-07-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
16 pages, 12 figures, submitted
Scientific paper
We study rapidly accreting, gravitationally unstable disks with a series of global, three dimensional, numerical experiments using the code ORION. In this paper we conduct a numerical parameter study focused on protostellar disks, and show that one can predict disk behavior and the multiplicity of the accreting star system as a function of two dimensionless parameters which compare the disk's accretion rate to its sound speed and orbital period. Although gravitational instabilities become strong, we find that fragmentation into binary or multiple systems occurs only when material falls in several times more rapidly than the canonical isothermal limit. The disk-to-star accretion rate is proportional to the infall rate, and governed by gravitational torques generated by low-m spiral modes. We also confirm the existence of a maximum stable disk mass: disks that exceed ~50% of the total system mass are subject to fragmentation and the subsequent formation of binary companions.
Klein Richard I.
Kratter Kaitlin M.
Krumholz Mark R.
Matzner Christopher D.
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