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Forming a primordial star in a relic HII region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2005

Brian W. O'Shea ,
Tom Abel ,
Dan Whalen  and
Michael L. Norman
Brian W. O'Shea
Affiliation:
Theoretical Astrophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory email: bwoshea@lanl.gov
Tom Abel
Affiliation:
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University
Dan Whalen
Affiliation:
Theoretical Astrophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory email: bwoshea@lanl.gov
Michael L. Norman
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California in San Diego
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Abstract

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We present results from an Eulerian adaptive mesh refinement simulation demonstrating the formation of a primordial star within an HII region produced by an earlier massive star. Despite the higher temperatures of the ionized gas, this second star formed within 23 million years of its neighbor's death. The enhanced electron fraction within the HII region catalyzes rapid molecular hydrogen formation, leading to enhanced cooling in the preprocessed halo. This “second generation” primordial protostar has a much lower accretion rate than its predecessor, due in part to the higher angular momentum of the halo in which it forms. This situation may allow binaries or multiple systems of low-mass stars to form. The result discussed here is described in more detail in O'Shea et al. (2005).

Keywords

Stars: formationHII regionslarge-scale structure of universe
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 1 , Symposium S228: From Lithium to Uranium: Elemental Tracers of Early Cosmic Evolution , May 2005 , pp. 169 - 170
Copyright
© 2005 International Astronomical Union