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Title: Limiting Accretion onto Massive Stars by Fragmentation-Induced Starvation

Abstract

Massive stars influence their surroundings through radiation, winds, and supernova explosions far out of proportion to their small numbers. However, the physical processes that initiate and govern the birth of massive stars remain poorly understood. Two widely discussed models are monolithic collapse of molecular cloud cores and competitive accretion. To learn more about massive star formation, we perform simulations of the collapse of rotating, massive, cloud cores including radiative heating by both non-ionizing and ionizing radiation using the FLASH adaptive mesh refinement code. These simulations show fragmentation from gravitational instability in the enormously dense accretion flows required to build up massive stars. Secondary stars form rapidly in these flows and accrete mass that would have otherwise been consumed by the massive star in the center, in a process that we term fragmentation-induced starvation. This explains why massive stars are usually found as members of high-order stellar systems that themselves belong to large clusters containing stars of all masses. The radiative heating does not prevent fragmentation, but does lead to a higher Jeans mass, resulting in fewer and more massive stars than would form without the heating. This mechanism reproduces the observed relation between the total stellar mass in the clustermore » and the mass of the largest star. It predicts strong clumping and filamentary structure in the center of collapsing cores, as has recently been observed. We speculate that a similar mechanism will act during primordial star formation.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
992913
Report Number(s):
SLAC-PUB-14215
arXiv:1005.3271; TRN: US201023%%167
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophys.J.725:134-145,2010
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Astrophys.J.725:134-145,2010
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CLOUDS; EXPLOSIONS; FASTING; FRAGMENTATION; GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY; HEATING; IONIZING RADIATIONS; STARS; Astrophysics,GRQC

Citation Formats

Peters, Thomas, /ZAH, Heidelberg, Klessen, Ralf S, /ZAH, Heidelberg /KIPAC, Menlo Park, Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark, /Amer. Museum Natural Hist., Banerjee, Robi, and /ZAH, Heidelberg. Limiting Accretion onto Massive Stars by Fragmentation-Induced Starvation. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/725/1/134.
Peters, Thomas, /ZAH, Heidelberg, Klessen, Ralf S, /ZAH, Heidelberg /KIPAC, Menlo Park, Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark, /Amer. Museum Natural Hist., Banerjee, Robi, & /ZAH, Heidelberg. Limiting Accretion onto Massive Stars by Fragmentation-Induced Starvation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/725/1/134
Peters, Thomas, /ZAH, Heidelberg, Klessen, Ralf S, /ZAH, Heidelberg /KIPAC, Menlo Park, Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark, /Amer. Museum Natural Hist., Banerjee, Robi, and /ZAH, Heidelberg. 2010. "Limiting Accretion onto Massive Stars by Fragmentation-Induced Starvation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/725/1/134. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/992913.
@article{osti_992913,
title = {Limiting Accretion onto Massive Stars by Fragmentation-Induced Starvation},
author = {Peters, Thomas and /ZAH, Heidelberg and Klessen, Ralf S and /ZAH, Heidelberg /KIPAC, Menlo Park and Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark and /Amer. Museum Natural Hist. and Banerjee, Robi and /ZAH, Heidelberg},
abstractNote = {Massive stars influence their surroundings through radiation, winds, and supernova explosions far out of proportion to their small numbers. However, the physical processes that initiate and govern the birth of massive stars remain poorly understood. Two widely discussed models are monolithic collapse of molecular cloud cores and competitive accretion. To learn more about massive star formation, we perform simulations of the collapse of rotating, massive, cloud cores including radiative heating by both non-ionizing and ionizing radiation using the FLASH adaptive mesh refinement code. These simulations show fragmentation from gravitational instability in the enormously dense accretion flows required to build up massive stars. Secondary stars form rapidly in these flows and accrete mass that would have otherwise been consumed by the massive star in the center, in a process that we term fragmentation-induced starvation. This explains why massive stars are usually found as members of high-order stellar systems that themselves belong to large clusters containing stars of all masses. The radiative heating does not prevent fragmentation, but does lead to a higher Jeans mass, resulting in fewer and more massive stars than would form without the heating. This mechanism reproduces the observed relation between the total stellar mass in the cluster and the mass of the largest star. It predicts strong clumping and filamentary structure in the center of collapsing cores, as has recently been observed. We speculate that a similar mechanism will act during primordial star formation.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/725/1/134},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/992913}, journal = {Astrophys.J.725:134-145,2010},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2010},
month = {Wed Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2010}
}