Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)
· Full Refereed Journal Article (PDF/Postscript)
· arXiv e-print (arXiv:0909.4255)
· References in the article
· Citations to the Article (25) (Citation History)
· Refereed Citations to the Article
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Chaotic star formation and the alignment of stellar rotation with disc and planetary orbital axes
Authors:
Bate, M. R.; Lodato, G.; Pringle, J. E.
Affiliation:
AA(School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL), AB(Theoretical Astrophysics Group, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano, Via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milano, Italy), AC(Theoretical Astrophysics Group, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA)
Publication:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 401, Issue 3, pp. 1505-1513. (MNRAS Homepage)
Publication Date:
01/2010
Origin:
WILEY
Astronomy Keywords:
accretion, accretion discs, stars: formation, stars: interiors, planetary systems: formation, planetary systems: protoplanetary discs, stars: rotation
DOI:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15773.x
Bibliographic Code:
2010MNRAS.401.1505B

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of the relative angle between the stellar rotation axis and the circumstellar disc axis of a star that forms in a stellar cluster from the collapse of a turbulent molecular cloud. This is an inherently chaotic environment with variable accretion, both in terms of rate and the angular momentum of the material, and dynamical interactions between stars. We find that the final stellar rotation axis and disc spin axis can be strongly misaligned, but this occurs primarily when the disc is truncated by a dynamical encounter so that the final disc rotation axis depends simply on what fell in last. This may lead to planetary systems with orbits that are misaligned with the stellar rotation axis, but only if the final disc contains enough mass to form planets. We also investigate the time variability of the inner-disc spin axis, which is likely to determine the direction of a protostellar jet. We find that the jet direction varies more strongly for lighter discs, such as those that have been truncated by dynamical interactions or have suffered a period of rapid accretion. Finally, we note that variability of the angular momentum of the material accreted by a star implies that the internal velocity field of such stars may be more complicated than that of aligned differential rotation.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
   

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Keywords (in text query field)
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints