Numerical studies in star formation using smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics

Our understanding of star formation has improved dramatically since the first theoretical studies of gravitational collapse conducted by Jeans more than 100 years ago. Today we know that most stars form in clusters within cold, dark molecular clouds that are part of the interstellar medium. Moreover, we have a good understanding of the individual physical processes involved in star formation. However, the interplay of the physical processes that ultimately lead to the formation of stars is still largely misunderstood. In this work, the influence of magnetic fields in the formation of individual low-mass stars is investigated. In this work, the numerical method Smoothed Particle Magnetohydrodynamics (SPMHD) is used to study gravitational collapse in the presence of magnetic fields in three-dimensional simulations. While similar studies have been performed with grid-based codes, SPMHD-based methods have been limited to formulations that use potentials instead of the induction equation for the time evolution of the magnetic field. In this work, it was possible for the first time to perform an SPMHD simulation of gravitational collapse with the full equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics, without affecting the results by numerical instabilities.