The Luminosity Problem: Testing Theories of Star Formation
Christopher McKEE
Berkeley
Résumé :
Low-mass protostars are less luminous than expected. This luminosity problem
is important because the observations appear to be inconsistent with
some of the basic premises of star formation theory. Two possible solutions
are that stars form more slowly than originally thought, which is supported
by recent data, and/or that protostellar accretion is episodic; current
data suggest that the latter can account for less than half the missing
luminosity. The protostellar luminosity function provides a powerful tool
both for addressing the luminosity problem and for testing theories
of star formation. The protostellar mass function and preliminary results
for the protostellar luminosity function are presented for the
collapse of singular isothermal spheres, for the collapse of turbulent
cores, and for competitive accretion.
