The evolution of molecular clouds: turbulence-regulated global radial collapse

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Luo, An-Xu, Liu, Hong-Li, Li, Jin-Zeng
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Luo, An-Xu
Liu, Hong-Li
Li, Jin-Zeng
author_facet Luo, An-Xu
Liu, Hong-Li
Li, Jin-Zeng
contents The star formation efficiency (SFE) measures the proportion of molecular gas converted into stars, while the star formation rate (SFR) indicates the rate at which gas is transformed into stars. Here we propose such a model in the framework of a global radial collapse of molecular clouds, where the collapse velocity depends on the density profile and the initial mass-to-radius ratio of molecular clouds, with the collapse velocity accelerating during the collapse process. This simplified analytical model allows us to estimate a lifetime of giant molecular clouds of approximately $0.44-7.36 \times 10^7\, \rm{yr}$, and a star formation timescale of approximately $0.5-5.88 \times 10^6\, \rm{yr}$. Additionally, we can predict an SFE of approximately $1.59\, \%$, and an SFR of roughly $1.85\, \rm{M_{\odot} \, yr^{-1}}$ for the Milky Way in agreement with observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_16299
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The evolution of molecular clouds: turbulence-regulated global radial collapse
Luo, An-Xu
Liu, Hong-Li
Li, Jin-Zeng
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The star formation efficiency (SFE) measures the proportion of molecular gas converted into stars, while the star formation rate (SFR) indicates the rate at which gas is transformed into stars. Here we propose such a model in the framework of a global radial collapse of molecular clouds, where the collapse velocity depends on the density profile and the initial mass-to-radius ratio of molecular clouds, with the collapse velocity accelerating during the collapse process. This simplified analytical model allows us to estimate a lifetime of giant molecular clouds of approximately $0.44-7.36 \times 10^7\, \rm{yr}$, and a star formation timescale of approximately $0.5-5.88 \times 10^6\, \rm{yr}$. Additionally, we can predict an SFE of approximately $1.59\, \%$, and an SFR of roughly $1.85\, \rm{M_{\odot} \, yr^{-1}}$ for the Milky Way in agreement with observations.
title The evolution of molecular clouds: turbulence-regulated global radial collapse
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.16299