Evolution of the angular momentum during gravitational fragmentation of molecular clouds

Abstract

We investigate the origin of the observed scaling $j\sim R^{3/2}$ between the specific angular momentum $j$ and the radius $R$ of molecular clouds (MCs) and their their substructures, and of the observed near independence of $\beta$, the ratio of rotational to gravitational energy, from $R$. To this end, we measure the angular momentum (AM) of sets of particles in an SPH simulation of the formation, collapse and fragmentation of giant MCs. The sets of SPH particles are defined either as ``clumps'' (connected particle sets), or as lagrangian sets that conform a connected clump only at a certain time $\tdef$. We find that: {\it i)} Clumps evolve along the observed \jR\ relation at all times, {\it ii)} Lagrangian particle sets evolve along the observed relation when the volume containing them also contains a large number of other ``intruder'' particles. Otherwise, they evolve with $j\sim$ cst. {\it iii)} Tracking lagrangian sets to the future, we find that a subset of the SPH particles participates in the collapse, while another disperses away. {\it iv)} Noting that, under AM conservation, $\beta$ increases during contraction, we suggest that its near independence of radius may arise from the competition between this increase and an increase in the AM exchange rate at higher rotational energy density gradient. {\it v)} We suggest that, if MCs are globally dominated by gravity, the observed \jR\ relation arises because the observational selection of its dense structures amounts to selecting the fragments that have lost AM via Reynolds stresses from their neighbors.