The role of thermodynamic efficiency in setting the star formation efficiency of self‐gravitating molecular clouds

• Published in: Astronomische Nachrichten Vol. 341; no. 9; pp. 943 - 950
• Main Authors: Kumssa, Gemechu M., Tessema, S. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA 01.11.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Astronomical models; Critical mass; Efficiency; Gravitation; Luminosity; molecular cloud; Molecular clouds; Physical factors; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation; star formation: star formation efficiency; Stellar mass; Systematic errors; Thermodynamic efficiency
• ISSN: 0004-6337; 1521-3994
• DOI: 10.1002/asna.202013807

We study the star formation efficiency per free‐fall time(ϵff) of a self‐gravitating molecular cloud (MC) in the presence of dimensionless thermodynamic efficiency factor ϵ, quantified by taking the ratio of radiation luminosity to the gravitational energy released per free‐fall time (i.e., ϵ=LradLgf) where 0 < ϵ < 1. The results of previous studies indicated that theoretically calculated star formation efficiency of the self‐gravitating MC is larger than the results obtained by observation. These differences may occur due to systematic errors in addition to other physical factors. Currently, there is no single complete model describing star formation efficiency because stars form in a complex and dynamically varying environment. Based on this conceptual framework, we model the equation of star formation efficiency in free‐fall time (ϵff). Moreover, we formulated stellar mass in terms of star formation efficiency by combining the critical mass and the stellar mass models taken from literature. The results indicate that the thermodynamic efficiency factor together with fundamental parameters of the cloud and the time scales play a crucial role in describing the star formation efficiency (SFE) of self‐gravitating MC in its free‐fall time.