The Origin of Episodic Accretion Bursts in the Early Stages of Star Formation

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal 2005-11, Vol.633 (2), p.L137-L140
• Main Authors: Vorobyov, E. I, Basu, Shantanu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1538-4357; 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.1086/498303

We study numerically the evolution of rotating cloud cores, from the collapse of a magnetically supercritical core to the formation of a protostar and the development of a protostellar disk during the main accretion phase. We find that the disk quickly becomes unstable to the development of a spiral structure similar to that observed recently in AB Aurigae. A continuous infall of matter from the protostellar envelope makes the protostellar disk unstable, leading to spiral arms and the formation of dense protostellar/protoplanetary clumps within them. The growing strength of spiral arms and ensuing redistribution of mass and angular momentum creates a strong centrifugal disbalance in the disk and triggers bursts of mass accretion during which the dense protostellar/protoplanetary clumps fall onto the central protostar. These episodes of clump infall may manifest themselves as episodes of vigorous accretion (.10 super(-4) M sub(z) yr super(-1)), as is observed in FU Orionis variables. Between these accretion bursts, the protostar is characterized by a low accretion rate (