Radiation Pressure in Massive Star Formation (original) (raw)
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The role of accretion disks in the formation of massive stars
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2010
We present radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the collapse of massive pre-stellar cores. We treat frequency dependent radiative feedback from stellar evolution and accretion luminosity at a numerical resolution down to 1.27 AU. In the 2D approximation of axially symmetric simulations, it is possible for the first time to simulate the whole accretion phase of several 10 5 yr for the forming massive star and to perform a comprehensive scan of the parameter space. Our simulation series show evidently the necessity to incorporate the dust sublimation front to preserve the high shielding property of massive accretion disks. Our disk accretion models show a persistent high anisotropy of the corresponding thermal radiation field, yielding to the growth of the highest-mass stars ever formed in multi-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations. Non-axially symmetric effects are not necessary to sustain accretion. The radiation pressure launches a stable bipolar outflow, which grows in angle with time as presumed from observations. For an initial mass of the pre-stellar host core of 60, 120, 240, and 480 M⊙ the masses of the final stars formed in our simulations add up to 28.2, 56.5, 92.6, and at least 137.2 M⊙ respectively.
Radiation-Hydrodynamic Simulations of Massive Star Formation with Protostellar Outflows
The Astrophysical Journal, 2011
We report the results of a series of AMR radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the collapse of massive star forming clouds using the ORION code. These simulations are the first to include the feedback effects protostellar outflows, as well as protostellar radiative heating and radiation pressure exerted on the infalling, dusty gas. We find that outflows evacuate polar cavities of reduced optical depth through the ambient core. These enhance the radiative flux in the poleward direction so that it is 1.7 to 15 times larger than that in the midplane. As a result the radiative heating and outward radiation force exerted on the protostellar disk and infalling cloud gas in the equatorial direction are greatly diminished. This simultaneously reduces the Eddington radiation pressure barrier to high-mass star formation and increases the minimum threshold surface density for radiative heating to suppress fragmentation compared to models that do not include outflows. The strength of both these effects depends on the initial core surface density. Lower surface density cores have longer free-fall times and thus massive stars formed within them undergo more Kelvin contraction as the core collapses, leading to more powerful outflows. Furthermore, in lower surface density clouds the ratio of the time required for the outflow to break out of the core to the core free-fall time is smaller, so that these clouds are consequently influenced by outflows at earlier stages of collapse. As a result, outflow effects are strongest in low surface density cores and weakest in high surface density one. We also find that radiation focusing in the direction of outflow cavities is sufficient to prevent the formation of radiation pressure-supported circumstellar gas bubbles, in contrast to models which neglect protostellar outflow feedback.
The Formation of Massive Star Systems by Accretion
Science, 2009
Massive stars produce so much light that the radiation pressure they exert on the gas and dust around them is stronger than their gravitational attraction, a condition that has long been expected to prevent them from growing by accretion. We present three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the collapse of a massive prestellar core and find that radiation pressure does not halt accretion. Instead, gravitational and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities channel gas onto the star system through non-axisymmetric disks and filaments that self-shield against radiation, while allowing radiation to escape through optically-thin bubbles. Gravitational instabilities cause the disk to fragment and form a massive companion to the primary star. Radiation pressure does not limit stellar masses, but the instabilities that allow accretion to continue lead to small multiple systems.
Simulating the Formation of Massive Protostars. I. Radiative Feedback and Accretion Disks
The Astrophysical Journal, 2016
We present radiation hydrodynamic simulations of collapsing protostellar cores with initial masses of 30, 100, and 200 M ⊙. We follow their gravitational collapse and the formation of a massive protostar and protostellar accretion disk. We employ a new hybrid radiative feedback method blending raytracing techniques with flux-limited diffusion for a more accurate treatment of the temperature and radiative force. In each case, the disk that forms becomes Toomre-unstable and develops spiral arms. This occurs between 0.35 and 0.55 freefall times and is accompanied by an increase in the accretion rate by a factor of 2-10. Although the disk becomes unstable, no other stars are formed. In the case of our 100 and 200 M ⊙ simulation, the star becomes highly super-Eddington and begins to drive bipolar outflow cavities that expand outwards. These radiatively-driven bubbles appear stable, and appear to be channeling gas back onto the protostellar accretion disk. Accretion proceeds strongly through the disk. After 81.4 kyr of evolution, our 30 M ⊙ simulation shows a star with a mass of 5.48 M ⊙ and a disk of mass 3.3 M ⊙ , while our 100 M ⊙ simulation forms a 28.8 M ⊙ mass star with a 15.8 M ⊙ disk over the course of 41.6 kyr, and our 200 M ⊙ simulation forms a 43.7 M ⊙ star with an 18 M ⊙ disk in 21.9 kyr. In the absence of magnetic fields or other forms of feedback, the masses of the stars in our simulation do not appear limited by their own luminosities.
THE EFFECTS OF RADIATIVE TRANSFER ON LOW-MASS STAR FORMATION
The Astrophysical Journal, 2009
Forming stars emit a substantial amount of radiation into their natal environment. We use ORION, an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) three-dimensional gravito-radiation-hydrodyanics code, to simulate low-mass star formation in a turbulent molecular cloud. We compare the distribution of stellar masses, accretion rates, and temperatures in the cases with and without radiative transfer, and we demonstrate that radiative feedback has a profound effect on accretion, multiplicity, and mass by reducing the number of stars formed and the total rate at which gas turns into stars. We also show, that once star formation reaches a steady state, protostellar radiation is by far the dominant source of energy in the simulation, exceeding viscous dissipation and compressional heating by at least an order of magnitude. Calculations that omit radiative feedback from protstars significantly underestimate the gas temperature and the strength of this effect. Although heating from protostars is mainly confined to the protostellar cores, we find that it is sufficient to suppress disk fragmentation that would otherwise result in very low-mass companions or brown dwarfs. We demonstrate that the mean protostellar accretion rate increases with the final stellar mass so that the star formation time is only a weak function of mass.
Radiation‐Hydrodynamic Simulations of Collapse and Fragmentation in Massive Protostellar Cores
The Astrophysical Journal, 2007
We simulate the early stages of the evolution of turbulent, virialized, high-mass protostellar cores, with primary attention to how cores fragment, and whether they form a small or large number of protostars. Our simulations use the Orion adaptive mesh refinement code to follow the collapse from ∼ 0.1 pc scales to ∼ 10 AU scales, for durations that cover the main fragmentation phase, using threedimensional gravito-radiation hydrodynamics. We find that for a wide range of initial conditions radiation feedback from accreting protostars inhibits the formation of fragments, so that the vast majority of the collapsed mass accretes onto one or a few objects. Most of the fragmentation that does occur takes place in massive, self-shielding disks. These are driven to gravitational instability by rapid accretion, producing rapid mass and angular momentum transport that allows most of the gas to accrete onto the central star rather than forming fragments. In contrast, a control run using the same initial conditions but an isothermal equation of state produces much more fragmentation, both in and out of the disk. We conclude that massive cores with observed properties are not likely to fragment into many stars, so that, at least at high masses, the core mass function probably determines the stellar initial mass function. Our results also demonstrate that simulations of massive star forming regions that do not include radiative transfer, and instead rely on a barotropic equation of state or optically thin heating and cooling curves, are likely to produce misleading results.
2010
The formation and evolution of the circumstellar disk in unmagnetized molecular clouds is investigated using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations from the prestellar core until the end of the main accretion phase. In collapsing clouds, the first (adiabatic) core with a size of ~10AU forms prior to the formation of the protostar. At its formation, the first core has a thick disk-like structure, and is mainly supported by the thermal pressure. After the protostar formation, it decreases the thickness gradually, and becomes supported by the centrifugal force. We found that the first core is a precursor of the circumstellar disk. This indicates that the circumstellar disk is formed before the protostar formation with a size of ~10AU, which means that no protoplanetary disk smaller than <10AU exists. Reflecting the thermodynamics of the collapsing gas, at the protostar formation epoch, the circumstellar disk has a mass of ~0.01-0.1 solar mass, while the protostar has a mass of ~...
On the Radiation Problem of High Mass Stars
A massive star is defined to be one with mass greater than ∼ 8−10M . Central to the on-going debate on how these objects [massive stars] come into being is the socalled Radiation Problem. For nearly forty years, it has been argued that the radiation field emanating from massive stars is high enough to cause a global reversal of direct radial in-fall of material onto the nascent star. We argue that only in the case of a non-spinning isolated star does the gravitational field of the nascent star overcome the radiation field. An isolated non-spinning star is a non-spinning star without any circumstellar material around it, and the gravitational field beyond its surface is described exactly by Newton's inverse square law. The supposed fact that massive stars have a gravitational field that is much stronger than their radiation field is drawn from the analysis of an isolated massive star. In this case the gravitational field is much stronger than the radiation field. This conclusion has been erroneously extended to the case of massive stars enshrouded in gas & dust. We find that, for the case of a non-spinning gravitating body where we take into consideration the circumstellar material, that at ∼ 8 − 10M , the radiation field will not reverse the radial in-fall of matter, but rather a stalemate between the radiation and gravitational field will be achieved, i.e. in-fall is halted but not reversed. This picture is very different from the common picture that is projected and accepted in the popular literature that at ∼ 8 − 10M , all the circumstellar material, from the surface of the star right up to the edge of the molecular core, is expected to be swept away by the radiation field. We argue that massive stars should be able to start their normal stellar processes if the molecular core from which they form has some rotation, because a rotating core exhibits an Azimuthally Symmetric Gravitational Field which causes there to be an accretion disk and along this disk. The radiation field cannot be much stronger than the gravitational field, hence this equatorial accretion disk becomes the channel via which the nascent massive star accretes all of its material. ). So the problem is: how does the star continue to accumulate more mass beyond the 8 − 10 M limit? If the radiation field really did reverse any further in-fall of matter and protostars exclusively accumulated mass via direct radial in-fall of matter onto the nascent star and also via the accretion disk, this would set a mass upper limit of 8 − 10 M for any star in the Universe. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this is not what we observe. It therefore means that some process(es) responsible for the formation of stars beyond the 8 − 10 M limit must be at work. A solution to the problem must be sought because observations dictate that it exists.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2019
This paper investigates the gravitational trapping of H II regions predicted by steady-state analysis using radiation hydrodynamical simulations. We present idealized spherically symmetric radiation hydrodynamical simulations of the early evolution of H II regions including the gravity of the central source. As with analytic steady-state solutions of spherically symmetric ionized Bondi accretion flows, we find gravitationally trapped H II regions with accretion through the ionization front on to the source. We found that, for a constant ionizing luminosity, fluctuations in the ionization front are unstable. This instability only occurs in this spherically symmetric accretion geometry. In the context of massive star formation, the ionizing luminosity increases with time as the source accretes mass. The maximum radius of the recurring H II region increases on the accretion timescale until it reaches the sonic radius, where the infall velocity equals the sound speed of the ionized gas, after which it enters a pressure-driven expansion phase. This expansion prevents accretion of gas through the ionization front, the accretion rate on to the star decreases to zero, and it stops growing from accretion. Because of the time required for any significant change in stellar mass and luminosity through accretion our simulations keep both mass and luminosity constant and follow the evolution from trapped to expanding in a piecewise manner. Implications of this evolution of H II regions include a continuation of accretion of material on to forming stars for a period after the star starts to emit ionizing radiation, and an extension of the lifetime of ultracompact H II regions.
Outflows and particle acceleration in the accretion disks of young stars
EPJ Web of Conferences, 2019
Magneto-gas-dynamic (MGD) outflows from the accretion disks of T Tauri stars with fossil large-scale magnetic field are investigated. We consider two mechanisms of the outflows: rise of the magnetic flux tubes (MFT) formed in the regions of efficient generation of the toroidal magnetic field in the disk due to Parker instability, and acceleration of particles in the current layer formed near the boundary between stellar magnetosphere and the accretion disk. Structure of the disk is calculated using our MGD model of the accretion disks. We simulate dynamics of the MFT in frame of slender flux tube approximation taking into account aerodynamic and turbulent drags, and radiative heat exchange with external gas. Particle acceleration in the current layer is investigated on the basis of Sweet-Parker model of magnetic reconnection. Our calculations show that the MFT can accelerate to velocities up to 50 km s^−1 causing periodic outflows from the accretion disks. Estimations of the particle acceleration in the current layer are applied to interpret high-speed jets and X-rays observed in T Tauri stars with the accretion disks.