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Copyright by Athena Ranice Stacy 2011 - The University of Texas at ...

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describe studies th<strong>at</strong> have <strong>at</strong>tempted to address this goal.<br />

1.3 Outline<br />

Chapters 2 and 3 comprise the first section <strong>of</strong> this dissert<strong>at</strong>ion. <strong>The</strong>se<br />

chapters describe studies which aim to improve upon the ‘standard model’<br />

<strong>of</strong> Pop III star form<strong>at</strong>ion. <strong>The</strong> standard model is the process <strong>of</strong> how the first<br />

stars are expected to form in a ΛCDM universe, where DM halos grow through<br />

hierarchical merging until they are massive enough to gravit<strong>at</strong>ionally draw in<br />

gas which will form stars. This model excludes any background radi<strong>at</strong>ion or<br />

metals produced <strong>by</strong> stars in other minihalos, and thus describes star forma-<br />

tion in truly pristine gas. Chapters 2 and 3 utilize cosmological simul<strong>at</strong>ions<br />

to examine the typical mass reached <strong>by</strong> Pop III stars within this model. In<br />

particular, these chapters describe numerical modeling <strong>of</strong> the Pop III proto-<br />

stellar accretion process, since it is protostellar accretion, and in particular its<br />

termin<strong>at</strong>ion, th<strong>at</strong> governs the final masses th<strong>at</strong> <strong>at</strong>tained <strong>by</strong> the first stars.<br />

In Chapter 2, we find th<strong>at</strong> a small Pop III multiple system forms<br />

within a disk, domin<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>by</strong> a binary <strong>of</strong> 40 M⊙ and 10 M⊙ . This is an<br />

important modific<strong>at</strong>ion to the canonical picture <strong>of</strong> a single, highly massive<br />

star forming per minihalo.<br />

In Chapter 3, we study the effect <strong>of</strong> radi<strong>at</strong>ive feedback on the the<br />

mass growth <strong>of</strong> Pop III stars and fragment<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> primordial gas. We find<br />

th<strong>at</strong> radi<strong>at</strong>ive feedback does not prevent fragment<strong>at</strong>ion, and a massive Pop III<br />

binary forms within a disk. <strong>The</strong> acccretion r<strong>at</strong>e onto the most massive star,<br />

however, is significantly reduced, and feedback may sometimes prevent Pop<br />

III stars from growing to more than a few tens <strong>of</strong> solar masses.<br />

5

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