The Interaction of T-Tauri Stars with Molecular Clouds

Abstract

Winds from T-Tauri stars may provide an important dynamical input into cold molecular clouds. If the frequency of T-Tauri stars exceeds 20 pc-3, wind-driven shells collide and form ram pressure confined clumps. The supersonic clump motions can account for cloud line widths. Clumps collide inelastically, coalescing and eventually becoming Jeans unstable. For characteristic dark cloud temperatures low mass stars form, and we speculate that in this manner clouds can be self-sustaining for 107 − 108 yr. Only when either the gas supply is exhausted or an external trigger stimulates massive star formation (for example, by heating the cloud or enhancing the clump collision rate), will the cloud eventually be disrupted. A natural consequence of this model is that dark cloud lifetimes are identified with the duration of low mass star formation, inferred to exceed 107 yr from studies of nearby star clusters. Other implications include the prediction of the existence of embedded low mass stars in turbulent cloud cores, the presence of an internal source of radiation in dark clouds, and a clumpy structure for cold molecular clouds.