Formation and Evolution of the Solar Nebula

Abstract

The protostellar phase of stellar evolution is of considerable importance in determining whether a solar nebula forms from the collapse of an interstellar cloud, what the physical properties of the nebula are at the onset of its evolution, what the dominant mechanisms for angular momentum transport will be during the subsequent evolution, and whether conditions are favorable for the formation of planets. The initial mass distribution and angular momentum distribution in the core of a molecular cloud determine whether a binary system or a single star is formed. A relatively slowly rotating and centrally condensed cloud is likely to collapse to a disk-like structure out of which planets can form. The above parameters then determine the temperature and density structure of the disk and the characteristics of the resulting planetary system.