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https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1134785
INTRO: Stars like our Sun are formed from the collapse of stellar objects called prestellar cores, cold and dense concentrations of gas and dust held together by gravity. While many questions remain on the exact mechanisms of star formation, thanks to advanced radio telescopes, researchers have been able to garner new insights into the inner workings of infant stars.
Now, publishing in Astronomy & Astrophysics, researchers from Kyushu University and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have, for the first time, detected a phenomenon known as ambipolar diffusion occurring in a prestellar core. This phenomenon results in the weakening of the magnetic support of the core, leading to gravitational collapse to form an infant star called a protostar. These new findings provide further insight into the key processes of early star formation, and by extension how stellar systems like ours are created.
“Prestellar cores are fascinating stellar bodies. They are dense and cold, and a source of a lot of complex chemistry. The cold environment allows for molecules to assemble into more complex ones like precursors of prebiotic organic molecules,” explains first author Doris Arzoumanian, an Associate Professor at Kyushu University’s Institute for Advanced Study. “One of the questions we are investigating is the role of magnetic fields in star formation. Strong magnetic fields permeate prestellar cores. If that field is too strong, it can delay gravitational collapse and therefore star formation. We wanted to investigate how prestellar cores reduce the strength of their magnetic field.” (MORE - no ads)
INTRO: Stars like our Sun are formed from the collapse of stellar objects called prestellar cores, cold and dense concentrations of gas and dust held together by gravity. While many questions remain on the exact mechanisms of star formation, thanks to advanced radio telescopes, researchers have been able to garner new insights into the inner workings of infant stars.
Now, publishing in Astronomy & Astrophysics, researchers from Kyushu University and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have, for the first time, detected a phenomenon known as ambipolar diffusion occurring in a prestellar core. This phenomenon results in the weakening of the magnetic support of the core, leading to gravitational collapse to form an infant star called a protostar. These new findings provide further insight into the key processes of early star formation, and by extension how stellar systems like ours are created.
“Prestellar cores are fascinating stellar bodies. They are dense and cold, and a source of a lot of complex chemistry. The cold environment allows for molecules to assemble into more complex ones like precursors of prebiotic organic molecules,” explains first author Doris Arzoumanian, an Associate Professor at Kyushu University’s Institute for Advanced Study. “One of the questions we are investigating is the role of magnetic fields in star formation. Strong magnetic fields permeate prestellar cores. If that field is too strong, it can delay gravitational collapse and therefore star formation. We wanted to investigate how prestellar cores reduce the strength of their magnetic field.” (MORE - no ads)