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SUMMARY:The formation and evolution of self-gravitating protostellar accre
 tion discs - Ken Rice (Edinburgh)
DTSTART:20111128T160000Z
DTEND:20111128T170000Z
UID:TALK33190@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Henrik Latter
DESCRIPTION:It is now quite well accepted that during the earliest stages 
 of\nstar formation\, protostellar discs can be massive relative to the mas
 s\nof the central protostar.  During this epoch\, these discs will be susc
 eptible\nto the growth of a gravitational instability. In this talk\nI wil
 l discuss semi-analytic calculations and numerical simulations that\ninves
 tigate the formation and evolution of such discs. In particular\,\nI will 
 consider how such discs influence the transport of angular momentum and\nw
 ill consider the likelihood that these discs could fragment to form\nbound
  objects. The results suggests that fragmentation is unlikely except at\nl
 arge radii but that these discs are very effective\nat transporting mass o
 nto the central star and could\, during the earliest\nphases of star forma
 tion\, be the dominant transport mechanism.  I will\nalso discuss the evol
 ution of such discs in the presence of external\nirradiation which tends t
 o weaken the instability and largely acts to prohibit\nfragmentation.\n
LOCATION:MR14\,  Centre for Mathematical Sciences\, Wilberforce Road\, Cam
 bridge
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