We develop a detailed chemical network relevant to calculate the conditions that are characteristic of prestellar core collapse. We solve the system of time-dependent differential equations to ...calculate the equilibrium abundances of molecules and dust grains, with a size distribution given by size-bins for these latter. These abundances are used to compute the different non-ideal magneto-hydrodynamics resistivities (ambipolar, Ohmic and Hall), needed to carry out simulations of protostellar collapse. For the first time in this context, we take into account the evaporation of the grains, the thermal ionisation of potassium, sodium, and hydrogen at high temperature, and the thermionic emission of grains in the chemical network, and we explore the impact of various cosmic ray ionisation rates. All these processes significantly affect the non-ideal magneto-hydrodynamics resistivities, which will modify the dynamics of the collapse. Ambipolar diffusion and Hall effect dominate at low densities, up to nH = 1012 cm-3, after which Ohmic diffusion takes over. We find that the time-scale needed to reach chemical equilibrium is always shorter than the typical dynamical (free fall) one. This allows us to build a large, multi-dimensional multi-species equilibrium abundance table over a large temperature, density and ionisation rate ranges. This table, which we make accessible to the community, is used during first and second prestellar core collapse calculations to compute the non-ideal magneto-hydrodynamics resistivities, yielding a consistent dynamical-chemical description of this process.
Angular momentum transport and the formation of rotationally supported structures are major issues in our understanding of protostellar core formation. Whereas purely hydrodynamical simulations lead ...to large Keplerian disks, ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models yield the opposite result, with essentially no disk formation. We focus more particularly on the effect of ambipolar diffusion on the properties of the first Larson core and its surrounding structure, exploring various initial magnetisations and magnetic field versus rotation axis orientations of a 1 M collapsing prestellar dense core. We used the non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics version of the adaptive mesh refinement code RAMSES to carry out these calculations. In all cases, these disks remain significantly smaller than disks found in pure hydrodynamical simulations. Ambipolar diffusion thus bears a crucial impact on the regulation of magnetic flux and angular momentum transport during the collapse of a prestellar core and the formation of the resulting protostellar core-disk system, enabling the formation and growth of rotationally supported structures.
Context. The transport of angular momentum is fundamental during the formation of low-mass stars; too little removal and rotation ensures stellar densities are never reached, too much and the absence ...of rotation means no protoplanetary disks can form. Magnetic diffusion is seen as a pathway to resolving this long-standing problem. Aims. We aim to investigate the impact of including resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in simulations of the gravitational collapse of a 1 M⊙ gas sphere, from molecular cloud densities to the formation of the protostellar seed; the second Larson core. Methods. We used the adaptive mesh refinement code RAMSES to perform two 3D simulations of collapsing magnetised gas spheres, including self-gravity, radiative transfer in the form of flux-limited diffusion, and a non-ideal gas equation of state to describe H2 dissociation which leads to the second collapse. The first run was carried out under the ideal MHD approximation, while ambipolar and ohmic diffusion was incorporated in the second calculation using resistivities computed from an equilibrium chemical network. Results. In the ideal MHD simulation, the magnetic field dominates the energy budget everywhere inside and around the first hydrostatic core, fueling interchange instabilities and driving a low-velocity outflow above and below the equatorial plane of the system. High magnetic braking removes essentially all angular momentum from the second core. On the other hand, ambipolar and ohmic diffusion create a barrier which prevents amplification of the magnetic field beyond 0.1 G in the first Larson core which is now fully thermally supported. A significant amount of rotation is preserved and a small Keplerian-like disk forms around the second core. The ambipolar and ohmic diffusions are effective at radii below 10 AU, indicating that a least ~1 AU is necessary to investigate the angular momentum transfer and the formation of rotationally supported disks. Finally, when studying the radiative efficiency of the first and second core accretion shocks, we found that it can vary by several orders of magnitude over the 3D surface of the cores. Conclusions. This proves that magnetic diffusion is a prerequisite to star formation. Not only does it enable the formation of protoplanetary disks in which planets will eventually form, it also plays a determinant role in the formation of the protostar itself.
Context.
Massive star formation remains one of the most challenging problems in astrophysics, as illustrated by the fundamental issues of the radiative pressure barrier and the initial fragmentation. ...The wide variety of physical processes involved, in particular the protostellar radiative feedback, increase the complexity of massive star formation in comparison with its low-mass counterpart.
Aims.
We aim to study the details of mass accretion and ejection in the vicinity of massive star forming cores using high-resolution (5 au) three-dimensional numerical simulations. We investigated the mechanisms at the origin of outflows (radiative force versus magnetic acceleration). We characterised the properties of the disc forming around massive protostars depending on the physics included: hydrodynamics, magnetic fields, and ambipolar diffusion.
Methods.
We used state-of-the-art three-dimensional adaptive-mesh-refinement models of massive dense core collapse, which integrate the equations of (resistive) grey radiation magnetohydrodynamics, and include sink particle evolution. For the first time, we include both protostellar radiative feedback via pre-main-sequence evolutionary tracks and magnetic ambipolar diffusion. To determine the role of magnetic fields and ambipolar diffusion play in the formation of outflows and discs, we studied three different cases: a purely hydrodynamical run, a magnetised simulation under the ideal approximation (perfect coupling), and a calculation with ambipolar diffusion (resistive case). In the most micro-physically complex model (resistive MHD), we also investigated the effect the initial amplitude of both magnetic field and solid body rotation have on the final properties of the massive protostellar system. We used simple criteria to identify the outflow and disc material and follow their evolution as the central star accretes mass up to 20
M
⊙
in most of our models. The radiative, magnetic, and hydrodynamical properties of the outflows and discs are quantitatively measured and cross-compared between models.
Results.
Massive stars form in all our models, together with outflows and discs. The outflow is completely different when magnetic fields are introduced, so magneto-centrifugal processes are the main driver of the outflow up to stellar masses of 20
M
⊙
. Then, the disc properties heavily depend on the physics included. In particular, the disc formed in the ideal and resistive runs show opposite properties in terms of plasma beta; that is, the ratio of thermal-to-magnetic pressures and of magnetic field topology. While the disc in the ideal case is dominated by the magnetic pressure and the toroidal magnetic fields, the one formed in the resistive runs is dominated by the thermal pressure and essentially has a vertical magnetic field in the inner regions (
R
< 100−200 au).
Conclusions.
We find that magnetic processes dominate the early evolution of massive protostellar systems (
M
⋆
< 20
M
⊙
) and shapes the accretion and ejection as well as the disc formation. Ambipolar diffusion is mainly at work at disc scales and regulates its properties. We predict magnetic field’s topology within the disc and outflows, as well as disc masses and radii to be compared with observations. Lastly, our finding for the outflow and disc properties are reminiscent of the low-mass star formation framework, suggesting that accretion and ejection in young massive and low-mass protostars are regulated by the same physical processes in the early stages.
The accretion of hydrogen onto a white dwarf star ignites a classical nova eruption
-a thermonuclear runaway in the accumulated envelope of gas, leading to luminosities up to a million times that of ...the Sun and a high-velocity mass ejection that produces a remnant shell (mainly consisting of insterstellar medium). Close to the upper mass limit of a white dwarf
(1.4 solar masses), rapid accretion of hydrogen (about 10
solar masses per year) from a stellar companion leads to frequent eruptions on timescales of years
to decades
. Such binary systems are known as recurrent novae. The ejecta of recurrent novae, initially moving at velocities of up to 10,000 kilometres per second
, must 'sweep up' the surrounding interstellar medium, creating cavities in space around the nova binary. No remnant larger than one parsec across from any single classical or recurrent nova eruption is known
, but thousands of successive recurrent nova eruptions should be capable of generating shells hundreds of parsecs across. Here we report that the most frequently recurring nova, M31N 2008-12a in the Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31 or NGC 224), which erupts annually
, is indeed surrounded by such a super-remnant with a projected size of at least 134 by 90 parsecs. Larger than almost all known remnants of even supernova explosions
, the existence of this shell demonstrates that the nova M31N 2008-12a has erupted with high frequency for millions of years.
Context. Radiative transfer plays a crucial role in the star formation process. Because of the high computational cost, radiation-hydrodynamics simulations performed up to now have mainly been ...carried out in the grey approximation. In recent years, multifrequency radiation-hydrodynamics models have started to be developed in an attempt to better account for the large variations in opacities as a function of frequency. Aims. We wish to develop an efficient multigroup algorithm for the adaptive mesh refinement code RAMSES which is suited to heavy proto-stellar collapse calculations. Methods. Because of the prohibitive timestep constraints of an explicit radiative transfer method, we constructed a time-implicit solver based on a stabilized bi-conjugate gradient algorithm, and implemented it in RAMSES under the flux-limited diffusion approximation. Results. We present a series of tests that demonstrate the high performance of our scheme in dealing with frequency-dependent radiation-hydrodynamic flows. We also present a preliminary simulation of a 3D proto-stellar collapse using 20 frequency groups. Differences between grey and multigroup results are briefly discussed, and the large amount of information this new method brings us is also illustrated. Conclusions. We have implemented a multigroup flux-limited diffusion algorithm in the RAMSES code. The method performed well against standard radiation-hydrodynamics tests, and was also shown to be ripe for exploitation in the computational star formation context.
We present in this paper a multigroup model for radiation hydrodynamics to account for variations of the gas opacity as a function of frequency. The entropy closure model (
M
1) is applied to ...multigroup radiation transfer in a radiation hydrodynamics code. In difference from the previous grey model, we are able to reproduce the crucial effects of frequency-variable gas opacities, a situation omnipresent in physics and astrophysics. We also account for the energy exchange between neighbouring groups which is important in flows with strong velocity divergence. These terms were computed using a finite volume method in the frequency domain. The radiative transfer aspect of the method was first tested separately for global consistency (reversion to grey model) and against a well-established kinetic model through Marshak wave tests with frequency-dependent opacities. Very good agreement between the multigroup
M
1 and kinetic models was observed in all tests. The successful coupling of the multigroup radiative transfer to the hydrodynamics was then confirmed through a second series of tests. Finally, the model was linked to a database of opacities for a Xe gas in order to simulate realistic multigroup radiative shocks in Xe. The differences with the previous grey models are discussed.
► Multigroup model for frequency-dependent radiation hydrodynamics using the M1 model. ►Energy exchanges between groups due to Doppler effects computed with finite volumes. ► A series of radiative transfer and full RHD tests were performed to verify the method. ► Simulation of radiative shock in a Xe gas using realistic opacities was performed.
We present the first detailed spatiokinematical analysis and modelling of the planetary nebula Shapley 1 (Sp 1), which is known to contain a close-binary central star system. Close-binary central ...stars have been identified as a likely source of shaping in planetary nebulae, but with little observational support to date.
Deep narrow-band imaging in the light of O iii λ5007 Å suggests the presence of a large bow shock to the west of the nebula, indicating that it is undergoing the first stages of an interaction with the interstellar medium. Further narrow-band imaging in the light of Hα+ N ii λ6584 Å combined with long-slit observations of the Hα emission have been used to develop a spatiokinematical model of Sp 1. The model clearly reveals Sp 1 to be a bipolar, axisymmetric structure viewed almost pole-on. The symmetry axis of the model nebula is within a few degrees of perpendicular to the orbital plane of the central binary system - strong evidence that the central close-binary system has played an important role in shaping the nebula.
Sp 1 is one of the very few nebulae to have this link, between nebular symmetry axis and binary plane, shown observationally.
Following the Swift X-ray observations of the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi, we developed hydrodynamical models of mass ejection from which the forward shock velocities were used to ...estimate the ejecta mass and velocity. In order to further constrain our model parameters, we present synthetic X-ray spectra from our hydrodynamical calculations, which we compare to the Swift data. An extensive set of simulations was carried out to find a model that best fits the spectra up to 100 days after outburst. We find a good fit at high energies but require additional absorption to match the low energy emission. We estimate the ejecta mass to be in the range (2-5) X 10--7 M and the ejection velocity to be greater than 6000 km s--1 (and probably closer to 1,000 km s--1). We also find that estimates of shock velocity derived from gas temperatures via standard model fits to the X-ray spectra are much lower than those of the true shock velocities.
PDF
