1997/12/29 by Eve C. Ostriker · 1 citation
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.55937
11 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX, uses aipproc.sty, invited review at "Accretion Processes in Astrophysical Systems: Some Like It Hot", eds. S. Holt and T. Kallman
arxiv created 1997/12/29 · openalex publication_date 1998/01/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This paper reviews current theoretical work on the various stages of accretion in protostars, and the relationship of these ideal stages to the spectral classes of observed protostellar systems. I discuss scaling relationships that have been obtained for models of pre-stellar cores as they evolve by ambipolar diffusion toward a central singularity, and expectations for the dynamical evolution as the cores collapse radially to form a rotating disk. I summarize work that suggests accretion in T Tauri systems may be limited by ionization to disk surface layers, and implications for the variation of ṀD with radius. Finally, I describe models for the asymptotic structure of free magnetocentrifugal winds, and show that the constant-density surfaces in these winds may be strongly collimated even when the streamlines are not.