Richard B. Larson (source code)

= Richard B. Larson
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<Richard B. Larson> investigated the collapse of a <protostar> using numerical <fluid dynamics>. His 1969 calculations followed a spherically symmetric <gas> cloud and found a strongly nonuniform collapse: a small central core reached stellar <mass density> before most of the surrounding envelope had fallen very far.

This result separates formation of the first dense core from assembly of the final <star>. Subsequent <accretion> from the envelope can continue after the center has stopped collapsing. The imposed <spherical symmetry> makes the calculation tractable while excluding rotationally supported disks and other nonspherical structures.<Numerical Calculations of the Dynamics of a Collapsing Proto-Star by Richard B. Larson>[Abstract: spherical collapse, small initial core and subsequent infall]{ref}