Speaker
Dr
James Wurster
(University of Exeter)
Description
Numerical simulations are required to model the complicated physical processes that occur during the formation of a star. As we learn more about the star formation process, we begin to include even more complex processes, which can become numerically expensive. Thus, not only is the new physics required, but so are novel algorithms and HPC facilities.
I will discuss our research on star formation, in which our simulations start from a rotating spherical gas cloud. We find that, using realistic magnetic field strengths, discs do not form in models using ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which contradicts observations. However, discs do form if non-ideal MHD is included - and only if the Hall effect is included and a particular initial geometry is used. Although more realistic, modelling non-ideal MHD is a numerical challenge since the timestep required to resolve these processes can be hundreds of times smaller than required by other conditions (e.g. the Courant condition). These numerical difficulties will be discussed in concert with the astrophysical results.
Author
Dr
James Wurster
(University of Exeter)
Co-authors
Dr
Daniel Price
(Monash University)
Prof.
Matthew Bate
(University of Exeter)
