3D MHD model of the collapse and fragmentation of turbulent prestellar core

Abstract

With the help of 3D MHD simulations we investigate the collapse and fragmentation of rotating turbulent prestellar core embedded into turbulent medium. The numerical code is based on a high resolution Godunov-type finite-difference scheme. Initial turbulence is represented by the ensemble of Alfven waves with power law spectrum. Our computations show that under realistic parameters two bound fragments can appear when the density increases at $100-10^3$ times. The distance between the fragments is about $0.1$ of the initial core radius and their orbital period is comparable to the initial free fall time of the core. These results can explain the origin of binary stars with separation $0.001-0.01$ pc in the Galaxy field.

arXiv commentIAUS 270 "Computational Star Formation" poster proceedings. PDF file will be posted on the CUP web site