Physics
Scientific paper
Mar 1982
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1982drbu.coll..214s&link_type=abstract
In JPL Proc. of the 2d Intern. Colloq. on Drops and Bubbles p 214-221 (SEE N82-23418 14-34)
Physics
Fragmentation, Molecular Clouds, Stellar Evolution, Stellar Mass, Anisotropic Media, Cloud Dispersal, Gravitational Collapse, Magnetic Fields, Protostars, Stellar Winds
Scientific paper
The principal issues are addressed: the fragmentation of molecular clouds into units of stellar mass and the impact of star formation on molecular clouds. The observational evidence for fragmentation is summarized, and the gravitational instability described of a uniform spherical cloud collapsing from rest. The implications are considered of a finite pressure for the minimum fragment mass that is attainable in opacity-limited fragmentation. The role of magnetic fields is discussed in resolving the angular momentum problem and in making the collapse anisotropic, with notable consequences for fragmentation theory. Interactions between fragments are described, with emphasis on the effect of protostellar winds on the ambient cloud matter and on inhibiting further star formation. Such interactions are likely to have profound consequences for regulating the rate of star formation and on the energetics and dynamics of molecular clouds.
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