ABSTRACT We study the formation, evolution, and collapse of dense cores by tracking structures in a magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a star-forming cloud. We identify cores using the dendrogram algorithm and utilize machine learning techniques, including Neural Gas prototype learning and Fuzzy c-means clustering to analyse the density and velocity dispersion profiles of cores together with six bulk properties. We produce a 2-d visualization using a Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP), which facilitates the connection between physical properties and three partially-overlapping phases: i) unbound turbulent structures (Phase I), ii) coherent cores that have low turbulence (Phase II), and iii) bound cores, many of which become protostellar (Phase III). Within Phase II, we identify a population of long-lived coherent cores that reach a quasi-equilibrium state. Most prestellar cores form in Phase II and become protostellar after evolving into Phase III. Due to the turbulent cloud environment, the initial core properties do not uniquely predict the eventual evolution, i.e. core evolution is stochastic, and cores follow no one evolutionary path. The phase lifetimes are 1.0 ± 0.1 × 105 yr, 1.3 ± 0.2 × 105 yr, and 1.8 ± 0.3 × 105 yr for Phase I, II, and III, respectively. We compare our results to NH3 observations of dense cores. Known coherent cores predominantly map into Phase II, while most turbulent pressure-confined cores map to Phase I or III. We predict that a significant fraction of observed starless cores have unresolved coherent regions and that ≳20 per cent of observed starless cores will not form stars. Measurements of core radial profiles in addition to the usual bulk properties will enable more accurate predictions of core evolution.
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The highly variable time evolution of star-forming cores identified with dendrograms
ABSTRACT We investigate the time evolution of dense cores identified in molecular cloud simulations using dendrograms, which are a common tool to identify hierarchical structure in simulations and observations of star formation. We develop an algorithm to link dendrogram structures through time using the three-dimensional density field from magnetohydrodynamical simulations, thus creating histories for all dense cores in the domain. We find that the population-wide distributions of core properties are relatively invariant in time, and quantities like the core mass function match with observations. Despite this consistency, an individual core may undergo large (>40 per cent), stochastic variations due to the redefinition of the dendrogram structure between time-steps. This variation occurs independent of environment and stellar content. We identify a population of short-lived (<200 kyr) overdensities masquerading as dense cores that may comprise $\sim\!20$ per cent of any time snapshot. Finally, we note the importance of considering the full history of cores when interpreting the origin of the initial mass function; we find that, especially for systems containing multiple stars, the core mass defined by a dendrogram leaf in a snapshot is typically less than the final system stellar mass. This work reinforces that there is no time-stable density contour that defines a star-forming core. The dendrogram itself can induce significant structure variation between time-steps due to small changes in the density field. Thus, one must use caution when comparing dendrograms of regions with different ages or environment properties because differences in dendrogram structure may not come solely from the physical evolution of dense cores.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1748571
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10267916
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 497
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 4517 to 4534
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Context. The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and its relation with the core mass function (CMF) are actively debated issues with important implications in astrophysics. Recent observations in the W43 molecular complex of top-heavy CMFs, with an excess of high-mass cores compared to the canonical mass distribution, raise questions about our understanding of the star formation processes and their evolution in space and time. Aims. We aim to compare populations of protostellar and prestellar cores in three regions imaged in the ALMA-IMF Large Program. Methods. We created an homogeneous core catalogue in W43, combining a new core extraction in W43-MM1 with the catalogue of W43-MM2&MM3 presented in a previous work. Our detailed search for protostellar outflows enabled us to identify between 23 and 30 protostellar cores out of 127 cores in W43-MM1 and between 42 and 51 protostellar cores out of 205 cores in W43-MM2&MM3. Cores with neither outflows nor hot core emission are classified as prestellar candidates. Results. We found a similar fraction of cores which are protostellar in the two regions, about 35%. This fraction strongly varies in mass, from f pro ≃ 15–20% at low mass, between 0.8 and 3 M ⊙ up to f pro ≃ 80% above 16 M ⊙ . Protostellar cores are found to be, on average, more massive and smaller in size than prestellar cores. Our analysis also revealed that the high-mass slope of the prestellar CMF in W43, α = -1.46 -0.19 +0.12 , is consistent with the Salpeter slope, and thus the top-heavy form measured for the global CMF, α = −0.96 ± 0.09, is due to the protostellar core population. Conclusions. Our results could be explained by ‘clump-fed’ models in which cores grow in mass, especially during the protostellar phase, through inflow from their environment. The difference between the slopes of the prestellar and protostellar CMFs moreover implies that high-mass cores grow more in mass than low-mass cores.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2253
