Small—Scale Structure and Angular Momentum Transfer in Protostellar Environments

Abstract

Stochastic fluctuations of the gravitational field in a turbulent, collapsing protostellar clouds are induced by the population of small, high density eddies of the turbulent cascade. We compute the probability distribution of the stochastic force and angular momentum fields induced by these eddies, assuming that the density and velocity correlation functions can be described as power laws. We also show that a point mass moving faster than the velocity of the eddies’ system feels a net positive torque, and so its net angular momentum increases: the opposite happens to a particle moving with a velocity slower than the average. This mechanism of angular momentum transfer can be significant in the conditions observed in Molecular Clouds.