| 26 | | The collapse of the isothermal, hydrostatic sphere has been studied extensively, but mainly with focus on 2 special cases: the self-similarity solutions of the collapsing singular isothermal sphere (Shu), and the more modern numerical studies of collapsing marginally stable Bonnor Ebert spheres (F&C, B&P). The latter, relevant here and the generally more acceptable simple model for protostar formation, has been limited to the placement of a critical BE sphere in an ambient medium that was a) in pressure equilibrium with the sphere, b) of uniform density many times lighter than that of the sphere’s outermost edge, and c) perturbed out of equilibrium by some artificial trigger such as an overdensity of the sphere and surrounding medium. This led to the present objective of exploring the effect of whether collapse of a marginally stable sphere could be induced by its environment with no ad hoc perturbations, and how that collapse may differ from previous qualitative features. |
| | 25 | V. Thesis Paragraph: The collapse of the isothermal, hydrostatic sphere has been studied extensively, but mainly with focus on 2 special cases: the self-similarity solutions of the collapsing singular isothermal sphere (Shu), and the more modern numerical studies of collapsing marginally stable Bonnor Ebert spheres (F&C, B&P). The latter, relevant here and the generally more acceptable simple model for protostar formation, has been limited to the placement of a critical BE sphere in an ambient medium that was a) in pressure equilibrium with the sphere, b) of uniform density many times lighter than that of the sphere’s outermost edge, and c) perturbed out of equilibrium by some artificial trigger such as an overdensity of the sphere and surrounding medium. This led to the present objective of exploring the effect of whether collapse of a marginally stable sphere could be induced by its environment with no ad hoc perturbations, and how that collapse may differ from previous qualitative features. |
