The angular momentum problem and magnetic braking during star formation - Exact solutions for an aligned and a perpendicular rotator

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Angular Momentum, Magnetic Effects, Planetary Nebulae, Star Formation, Clouds, Interstellar Matter, Momentum Transfer, Rotating Disks

Scientific paper

Exact solutions to the angular momentum problem of star formation, in which the angular momentum of an interstellar cloud must be dissipated in order to permit its collapse into a star, are obtained for the cases when the axes of symmetry of the rotating clouds are aligned with and perpendicular to an initial frozen-in magnetic field by means of magnetic braking calculations. It is argued that although the fragmentation of interstellar clouds is a desirable element in a theory of star formation, the initial stellar mass function may also be determined by the mass function of pre-existing cloudlets gathered in field line valleys by a magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The exact calculations of magnetic braking reveal that the angular momentum can be dissipated within 15 million years for aligned magnetic fields and 1 million years for perpendicular fields, with magnetic braking efficiency independent of the stage of contraction in the first case and increasing upon contraction in the second. The retrograde spin of stellar or planetary fragments is then shown to be a consequence of magnetic braking if the angular momentum and magnetic field vectors are perpendicular.

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