Theoretical Processes in Star Formation

Abstract

To bring out the basic problem of star formation, consider a non-rotating cosmical gas cloud which is free to contract and so to convert most of its gravitational energy into kinetic energy of mass motion. Fluid dynamical systems in general tend to dissipate their kinetic energy, and a diffuse gas cloud easily radiates excess heat. If the cloud did not break up into fragments, then the steady conversion of gravitational energy into radiation would lead ultimately into the formation of a compact massive body - perhaps a quasar - but not of a star cluster, which is maintained at a comparatively low mean density by random stellar kinetic energy. Thus the transition from a gravitationally-bound cloud of gas and dust into a bound star cluster - or a fortiori into an expanding O-B association - requires that gravitational energy released during collapse be conserved as the random macroscopic kinetic energy. It is very likely that star formation is often triggered by processes that are essentially dissipative, such as shocks following passage of the spiral wave, or cloud-cloud collisions; however, it is equally important to emphasise that we require at some stage a cut-off in kinetic energy dissipation. And indeed, once a cloud has been able to fragment into a group of self-gravitating blobs, each of small geometrical cross-section, the chance of inelastic collisions between blobs is sharply reduced.