Early Stages of Protostellar Disk Evolution: A Link to the Initial Cloud Core

Abstract We study the structure and evolution of the very early protostellar disk (“protodisk”) just after protostar formation, where disk self-gravity dominates and the stellar contribution is dynamically minor. The disk redistributes angular momentum outward through outflows and gravitational torques, thereby helping to resolve the angular momentum problem of star formation. We develop a self-similar model and carry out a parameter study that examines disk stability as a function of the key drivers of early evolution, notably the infall rate from the envelope and the strength of the gravitational torques. The mass-infall rate onto the disk is estimated to be that from the collapse of a Bonnor–Ebert sphere. Our results indicate that protostellar disks that form from more unstable initial cores are more likely to be Toomre unstable. We also find that the specific angular momentum of young protostellar disks lies in the range 10 19 –10 20 cm 2 s −1 . We find distinct power-law profiles of physical quantities in the protodisk stage, including a rotation velocity profile that is shallower than the Keplerian profile that would be established at a later stage. As a rough validity window, our assumptions are most secure during the first ≲2 × 10 3 yr after protostar formation and may plausibly extend to ∼(0.5–1) × 10 4 yr under weak magnetic braking and strong infall.