Speaker
Dr
Rowan J Smith
(ITA, University of Heidelberg)
Description
While the first stars were long thought to form as isolated, single objects, recent
cutting-edge simulations have shown that multiple sites of fragmentation can be formed
even in primordial halos. These new results have important consequences for our
understanding of the early Universe, and the observational signatures that might be
expected from the first stars and protogalaxies. It is therefore important to study this
fragmentation in detail, and assess the extent to which it may be suppressed by
protostellar feedback. In this contribution, we will discuss the effects of the accretion
luminosity from young protostars on their immediate environment. Firstly, we shall show
that while the accretion luminosity heats the accretion disk surrounding the first
protostar, such radiative feedback is unable to fully stabilise the disk against
gravitational instability. Consequently, the disk still fragments, forming a binary or
higher-order multiple system. Secondly, we shall discuss the effects of feedback on a
small cluster of stars forming in primordial conditions. In particular, we will address
whether feedback can reduce or stop fragmentation, and what influence it has on the
accretion rates of the young protostars.
Primary author
Dr
Rowan J Smith
(ITA, University of Heidelberg)
Co-authors
Dr
Paul Clark
(ITA, University of Heidelberg)
Dr
Simon Glover
(ITA, University of Heidelberg)
