1,295 research outputs found
Collapse of a Molecular Cloud Core to Stellar Densities: The First Three-Dimensional Calculations
We present results from the first three-dimensional calculations ever to
follow the collapse of a molecular cloud core (~ 10^{-18} g cm^{-3}) to stellar
densities (> 0.01 g cm^{-3}). The calculations resolve structures over 7 orders
of magnitude in spatial extent (~ 5000 AU - 0.1 R_\odot), and over 17 orders of
magnitude in density contrast. With these calculations, we consider whether
fragmentation to form a close binary stellar system can occur during the second
collapse phase. We find that, if the quasistatic core that forms before the
second collapse phase is dynamically unstable to the growth of non-axisymmetric
perturbations, the angular momentum extracted from the central regions of the
core, via gravitational torques, is sufficient to prevent fragmentation and the
formation of a close binary during the subsequent second collapse.Comment: ApJ Letters, in press (will appear in Nov 20 issue; available from
the ApJ Rapid Release web page). 7 pages, incl. 5 figures. Also available at
http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de/theory/bat
The effect of magnetic fields on star cluster formation
We examine the effect of magnetic fields on star cluster formation by
performing simulations following the self-gravitating collapse of a turbulent
molecular cloud to form stars in ideal MHD. The collapse of the cloud is
computed for global mass-to-flux ratios of infinity, 20, 10, 5 and 3, that is
using both weak and strong magnetic fields. Whilst even at very low strengths
the magnetic field is able to significantly influence the star formation
process, for magnetic fields with plasma beta < 1 the results are substantially
different to the hydrodynamic case. In these cases we find large-scale
magnetically-supported voids imprinted in the cloud structure; anisotropic
turbulent motions and column density structure aligned with the magnetic field
lines, both of which have recently been observed in the Taurus molecular cloud.
We also find strongly suppressed accretion in the magnetised runs, leading to
up to a 75% reduction in the amount of mass converted into stars over the
course of the calculations and a more quiescent mode of star formation. There
is also some indication that the relative formation efficiency of brown dwarfs
is lower in the strongly magnetised runs due to the reduction in the importance
of protostellar ejections.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 8 very pretty movies, MNRAS, accepted. Version
with high-res figures + movies available from
http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/dprice/pubs/mcluster/index.htm
Competitive accretion in embedded stellar cluster
We investigate the physics of gas accretion in young stellar clusters.
Accretion in clusters is a dynamic phenomenon as both the stars and the gas
respond to the same gravitational potential. Accretion rates are highly
non-uniform with stars nearer the centre of the cluster, where gas densities
are higher, accreting more than others. This competitive accretion naturally
results in both initial mass segregation and a spectrum of stellar masses.
Accretion in gas-dominated clusters is well modelled using a tidal-lobe radius
instead of the commonly used Bondi-Hoyle accretion radius. This works as both
the stellar and gas velocities are under the influence of the same
gravitational potential and are thus comparable. The low relative velocity that
results means that the tidal radius is smaller than the Bondi-Hoyle radius in
these systems. In contrast, when the stars dominate the potential and are
virialised, the Bondi-Hoyle radius is smaller than the tidal radius and thus
Bondi-Hoyle accretion is a better fit to the accretion rates.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS in pres
Astrometric signatures of self-gravitating protoplanetary discs
We use high resolution numerical simulations to study whether gravitational
instabilities within circumstellar discs can produce astrometrically detectable
motion of the central star. For discs with masses of M_disc = 0.1 M_star, which
are permanantly stable against fragmentation, we find that the magnitude of the
astrometric signal depends upon the efficiency of disc cooling. Short cooling
times produce prominent filamentary spiral structures in the disc, and lead to
stellar motions that are potentially observable with future high precision
astrometric experiments. For a disc that is marginally unstable within radii of
\~10 au, we estimate astrometric displacements of 10-100 microarcsec on decade
timescales for a star at a distance of 100 pc. The predicted displacement is
suppressed by a factor of several in more stable discs in which the cooling
time exceeds the local dynamical time by an order of magnitude. We find that
the largest contribution comes from material in the outer regions of the disc
and hence, in the most pessimistic scenario, the stellar motions caused by the
disc could confuse astrometric searches for low mass planets orbiting at large
radii. They are, however, unlikely to present any complications in searches for
embedded planets orbiting at small radii, relative to the disc size, or Jupiter
mass planets or greater orbiting at large radii.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Formation of the First Supermassive Black Holes
We consider the physical conditions under which supermassive black holes
could have formed inside the first galaxies. Our SPH simulations indicate that
metal-free galaxies with a virial temperature ~10^4 K and with suppressed H2
formation (due to an intergalactic UV background) tend to form a binary black
hole system which contains a substantial fraction (>10%) of the total baryonic
mass of the host galaxy. Fragmentation into stars is suppressed without
substantial H2 cooling. Our simulations follow the condensation of ~5x10^6
M_sun around the two centers of the binary down to a scale of < 0.1pc. Low-spin
galaxies form a single black hole instead. These early black holes lead to
quasar activity before the epoch of reionization. Primordial black hole
binaries lead to the emission of gravitational radiation at redshifts z>10 that
would be detectable by LISA.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, revised version, ApJ in press (October 10, 2003
Are there brown dwarfs in globular clusters?
We present an analytical method for constraining the substellar initial mass
function in globular clusters, based on the observed frequency of transit
events. Globular clusters typically have very high stellar densities where
close encounters are relatively common, and thus tidal capture can occur to
form close binary systems. Encounters between main sequence stars and
lower-mass objects can result in tidal capture if the mass ratio is > 0.01. If
brown dwarfs exist in significant numbers, they too will be found in close
binaries, and some fraction of their number should be revealed as they transit
their stellar companions. We calculate the rate of tidal capture of brown
dwarfs in both segregated and unsegregated clusters, and find that the tidal
capture is more likely to occur over an initial relaxation time before
equipartition occurs. The lack of any such transits in recent HST monitoring of
47 Tuc implies an upper limit on the frequency of brown dwarfs (< 15 % relative
to stars) which is significantly below that measured in the galactic field and
young clusters.Comment: MNRAS in pres
Schedulability Analysis for Multi-Core Systems Accounting for Resource Stress and Sensitivity
Timing verification of multi-core systems is complicated by contention for shared hardware resources between co-running tasks on different cores. This paper introduces the Multi-core Resource Stress and Sensitivity (MRSS) task model that characterizes how much stress each task places on resources and how much it is sensitive to such resource stress. This model facilitates a separation of concerns, thus retaining the advantages of the traditional two-step approach to timing verification (i.e. timing analysis followed by schedulability analysis). Response time analysis is derived for the MRSS task model, providing efficient context-dependent and context independent schedulability tests for both fixed priority preemptive and fixed priority non-preemptive scheduling. Dominance relations are derived between the tests, and proofs of optimal priority assignment provided. The MRSS task model is underpinned by a proof-of-concept industrial case study
Properties of hierarchically forming star clusters
We undertake a systematic analysis of the early (< 0.5 Myr) evolution of
clustering and the stellar initial mass function in turbulent fragmentation
simulations. These large scale simulations for the first time offer the
opportunity for a statistical analysis of IMF variations and correlations
between stellar properties and cluster richness. The typical evolutionary
scenario involves star formation in small-n clusters which then progressively
merge; the first stars to form are seeds of massive stars and achieve a
headstart in mass acquisition. These massive seeds end up in the cores of
clusters and a large fraction of new stars of lower mass is formed in the outer
parts of the clusters. The resulting clusters are therefore mass segregated at
an age of 0.5 Myr, although the signature of mass segregation is weakened
during mergers. We find that the resulting IMF has a smaller exponent
(alpha=1.8-2.2) than the Salpeter value (alpha=2.35). The IMFs in subclusters
are truncated at masses only somewhat larger than the most massive stars (which
depends on the richness of the cluster) and an universal upper mass limit of
150 Msun is ruled out. We also find that the simulations show signs of the
IGIMF effect proposed by Weidner & Kroupa, where the frequency of massive stars
is suppressed in the integrated IMF compared to the IMF in individual clusters.
We identify clusters through the use of a minimum spanning tree algorithm which
allows easy comparison between observational survey data and the predictions of
turbulent fragmentation models. In particular we present quantitative
predictions regarding properties such as cluster morphology, degree of mass
segregation, upper slope of the IMF and the relation between cluster richness
and maximum stellar mass. [abridged]Comment: 21 Pages, 25 Figure
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