Fragmentation, multiplicity and massive star formation in filament hubs

Massive stars have a profound influence upon their surroundings and the evolution of the galactic Interstellar Medium due to their radiation, momentum feedback and final death as supernovae. Binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars, but at present multiplicity is rarely taken into account when studying massive star formation. However, it is a crucial topic, as close companions alter massive stars evolutionary path via mass exchange, and their subsequent supernovae progenitors.

Observations show that massive cores often contain multiple proto-stars and that cores are formed within networks of filaments gas in molecular clouds. Thus massive proto-stellar cores may be fed by clumpy streams of gas with variable angular momentum, making fragmentation increasingly likely.

This project aims to rectify this by simulating massive and low mass cores formed within molecular cloud filament networks, to investigate their multiplicity and disc properties. We will use the MHD code Arepo with radiative transfer to simulate filamentary gas networks to investigate the fragmentation of the gas into stars. Does including the environment in which massive stars form increase their likelihood to be part of multiple star systems?