Gravity or turbulence? IV. Collapsing cores in out-of-virial disguise

TL;DR

This study combines analytical models, observations, and simulations to understand the dynamical state of collapsing cores, revealing that their apparent overvirialization is due to gravitational energy estimation issues, supporting a chaotic collapse scenario.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis linking models, observations, and simulations to clarify core dynamics and corrects gravitational energy estimates affecting virial state interpretations.

Findings

Cores evolve towards higher velocity dispersions and densities during collapse.

Observed overvirial states are due to underestimated gravitational energy.

Core motions are driven by self-gravity in a hierarchical collapse.

Abstract

We study the dynamical state of cores by using a simple analytical model, a sample of observational massive cores, and numerical simulations of collapsing massive cores. From the model, we find that, if cores are formed from turbulent compressions, they evolve from small to large column densities, increasing their velocity dispersion as they collapse, while they tend to equipartition between gravity and kinetic energy. From the observational sample, we find that: (a) cores with substantially different column densities in the sample do not follow a Larson-like linewidth-size relation. Instead, cores with higher column densities tend to be located in the upper-left corner of the Larson velocity dispersion-size diagram, a result predicted previously (Ballesteros-Paredes et al. 2011a). (b) The data exhibit cores with overvirial values. Finally, in the simulations we reproduce the behavior depicted by the model and observational sample: cores evolve towards larger velocity dispersions and smaller sizes as they collapse and increase their column density. However, collapsing cores appear to approach overvirial states within a free-fall time. The cause of this apparent excess of kinetic energy is an underestimation of the gravitational energy, due to the assumption that the gravitational energy is given by the energy of an isolated sphere of constant column density. This excess disappears when the gravitational energy is correctly calculated from the actual spatial mass distribution, where inhomogeneities, as well as the potential due to the mass outside of the core, also contribute to the gravitational energy. We conclude that the observed energy budget of cores in surveys is consistent with their non-thermal motions being driven by their self-gravity and in a hierarchical and chaotic collapse.