Download Cynthia Saad - American University of Beirut

American University of Beirut
Physics Department
Invites you to a presentation entitled
The role of the magnetic field in a
collapsing stellar cloud
By
Cynthia Saad
MS student, Physics Dept., AUB
Abstract
The process of star formation is a challenging astrophysical process, since diverse
physical processes are involved.
The talk will focus on magnetically supported low mass clouds.
The magnetic field supports a stellar cloud against gravitational collapse. But loss of
magnetic field from the initial cloud is required to match astrophysical observations of
stars. Two mechanisms could be the way for the loss of magnetic field support: Ohmic
resistivity or ambipolar diffusion. Moreover, the ionization takes part of the collapse. It
determines how fast does the cloud lose its magnetic support.
In this talk, we outline the role of magnetic field in collapsing stellar cloud, thereby we
discuss the effect of ionization in the stellar plasma, and how the onset of the collapse is
influenced by the strength of the magnetic field. We particularly describe the process of
ambipolar diffusion influencing the collapse. We also investigate clouds fragmentation and
the formation of binary systems.
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2015
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Emile Bustani for Physics, Rm. 333