Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/128
Title (Primary) Modeling jet and outflow feedback during star cluster formation
Author Federrath, C.; Schrön, M.; Banerjee, R.; Klessen, R.S.
Source Titel Astrophysical Journal
Year 2014
Department CHS; MET
Volume 790
Issue 2
Page From art. 128
Language englisch
Keywords ISM: clouds; ISM: jets and outflows; ISM: kinematics and dynamics; magnetohydrodynamics (MHD); stars: formation; stars: luminosity function, mass function; turbulence
UFZ wide themes RU5;
Abstract Powerful jets and outflows are launched from the protostellar disks around newborn stars. These outflows carry enough mass and momentum to transform the structure of their parent molecular cloud and to potentially control star formation itself. Despite their importance, we have not been able to fully quantify the impact of jets and outflows during the formation of a star cluster. The main problem lies in limited computing power. We would have to resolve the magnetic jet-launching mechanism close to the protostar and at the same time follow the evolution of a parsec-size cloud for a million years. Current computer power and codes fall orders of magnitude short of achieving this. In order to overcome this problem, we implement a subgrid-scale (SGS) model for launching jets and outflows, which demonstrably converges and reproduces the mass, linear and angular momentum transfer, and the speed of real jets, with ~1000 times lower resolution than would be required without the SGS model. We apply the new SGS model to turbulent, magnetized star cluster formation and show that jets and outflows (1) eject about one-fourth of their parent molecular clump in high-speed jets, quickly reaching distances of more than a parsec, (2) reduce the star formation rate by about a factor of two, and (3) lead to the formation of ~1.5 times as many stars compared to the no-outflow case. Most importantly, we find that jets and outflows reduce the average star mass by a factor of ~ three and may thus be essential for understanding the characteristic mass of the stellar initial mass function.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15181
Federrath, C., Schrön, M., Banerjee, R., Klessen, R.S. (2014):
Modeling jet and outflow feedback during star cluster formation
Astrophys. J. 790 (2), art. 128 10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/128