The initial conditions of isolated star formation - X. A suggested evolutionary diagram for prestellar cores

TL;DR

This paper introduces an evolutionary diagram for prestellar cores based on radius and mass, supported by JCMT observations, showing cores evolve by accretion until gravitational collapse occurs, marking the transition to protostellar stages.

Contribution

It proposes a new evolutionary path for prestellar cores on a radius-mass diagram, supported by spectral line analysis, linking core properties to gravitational stability and collapse.

Findings

14 cores show signs of infall beyond the Jeans mass line.

10 cores near the Jeans mass line show tentative infall signs.

Cores evolve from low-mass, low-radius to collapsing states crossing the Jeans limit.

Abstract

We propose an evolutionary path for prestellar cores on the radius-mass diagram, which is analogous to stellar evolutionary paths on the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram. Using James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) observations of L1688 in the Ophiuchus star-forming complex, we analyse the HCO+ (J=4\rightarrow3) spectral line profiles of prestellar cores. We find that of the 58 cores observed, 14 show signs of infall in the form of a blue-asymmetric double-peaked line profile. These 14 cores all lie beyond the Jeans mass line for the region on a radius-mass plot. Furthermore another 10 cores showing tentative signs of infall, in their spectral line profile shapes, appear on or just over the Jeans mass line. We therefore propose the manner in which a prestellar core evolves across this diagram. We hypothesise that a core is formed in the low-mass, low-radius region of the plot. It then accretes quasistatically, increasing in both mass and radius. When it crosses the limit of gravitational instability it begins to collapse, decreasing in radius, towards the region of the diagram where protostellar cores are seen.