Illustration of ion-neutral drift in the L1544 prestellar core (IMAGE)
Caption
The blue lines represent the magnetic field lines, which are bent due to the gravitational contraction of the core. The red and green dots depict the ion and neutral molecular species, respectively, and the arrows trace their inflow motion towards the core center (the faster they travel the longer the arrows). While in the outer part of the core both the ions and neutrals are attached to the magnetic field lines, within the inner part of the core the neutrals decouple from the magnetic field lines and infall faster compared to the ions, which remain attached to the field lines. This ion-neutral decoupling known as ambipolar diffusion is required for the onset of the gravitational collapse of the prestellar core, which will produce a protostar in its center and ultimately a stellar system similar to our own Solar System.
Credit
Yurika Nakamura and Doris Arzoumanian/Kyushu University
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Only for media and non-commercial use
License
Original content