Massive Star Formation via the Collapse of Subvirial and Virialized Turbulent Massive Cores
2019
Similar to their low-mass counterparts, massive
starslikely form via the collapse of pre-stellar molecular
cores. Recent observations suggest that most massive
coresare subvirial (i.e., not supported by turbulence) and therefore are likely unstable to
gravitational collapse. Here we perform radiation hydrodynamic simulations to follow the collapse of turbulent massive
pre-stellar coreswith subvirial and virialized initial conditions to explore how their dynamic state affects the formation of massive
starsand
corefragmentation into companion
stars. We find that subvirial
coresundergo rapid monolithic collapse and no fragmentation resulting in massive
starsgreater in mass as compared to those produced from the collapse of virialized
coresthat have the same physical properties. In contrast, we find that virialized
coresundergo a slower, gradual collapse and turbulent fragmentation at early times resulting in numerous companion
stars. We find that in the absence of strong magnetic fields the faster growth rate of massive
starsthat are born out of subvirial
coresleads to an increase in the radiative heating of the
corethereby further suppressing fragmentation at early times when turbulent fragmentation occurs for virialized
cores. Our results suggest that the most massive
starslikely form from the rapid collapse of subvirial
coreswhereas massive
starsborn with a large number of companion
starslikely form from the slow collapse of highly turbulent
cores.
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