The Driving Mechanisms Of Protostellar Evolution
2020-06-05
12:15
CSIC
Online
Gravity and magnetic fields are competing entities in the formation process of stars like our Sun. While dense cores of molecular clouds collapse under their own gravity, magnetic fields represent a resisting force since charged dust and gas are tied to the field lines.
Polarization observations have shown that magnetic fields are unambiguously present in the universe and theory predicts their severe impact on the core dynamics. Because the new generation of instruments such as ALMA and SOFIA has been revealing the magnetic field morphology, dust and gas distribution in cores and protostellar cocoons in great detail, we have expanded our understanding of the interplay between magnetic fields and gravity. In this talk, I will review some of the classical and modern aspects of protostellar evolution, and present my contribution to the topic. Specifically, I will focus on our ALMA observations toward one of the nearest regions of low-mass star-forming regions, Barnard 59.