Impeding Turbulence Decay in Self-gravitating Cloud Cores
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Turbulence governs the fragmentation of molecular clouds and plays a pivotal role in star formation. The persistence of observed cloud turbulence suggests it does not decay significantly within the turnover timescale, implying a recurrent driving mechanism. Although ubiquitous self-gravity is a plausible driver, magnetohydrodynamic simulations by E. C. Ostriker et al. in 2001 demonstrated that self-gravity alone does not modify the global turbulence decay rate. In this study, we demonstrate that the dominant diffuse volume of a cloud dictates its overall decay rate, while individual dense cores can maintain near-zero decay rates. Crucially, this phenomenon is absent in control simulations excluding self-gravity. This discrepancy cannot be attributed to contamination of turbulent velocities by core contraction because most cores in our simulations remain in a quasi-equilibrium state. Our analysis reveals that the gravitational potential energy released during core formation—not necessarily driven by self-gravity but also by turbulent compression—is sufficient to sustain the observed turbulence levels within cores.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: Shibo 识博 Yuan 袁, Hua-bai 華白 Li 李
Institution: Chinese University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
OpenAlex ID: W4413058425