title: The Relationship between Dense Cores and Their Environment in
the Star-Forming Perseus Molecular Cloud

abstract:
Molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars, possess complex physical
and dynamical structures.
I will present highlights from my PhD thesis examining
dense cores in the Perseus molecular cloud.  I show results from a
pointed spectral survey of the dense cores and their
envelopes (in N2H+ and C18O) as well as a comparison to the bulk
cloud gas (13CO) observations from the COMPLETE Survey.  Spitzer data
show that roughly half of these dense cores surveyed have already
formed protostars, while the rest are starless.  We measure
the kinematic properties of the individual cores and
their envelopes and additionally compare the motions of
the ensemble to the larger structures within the cloud.
These measurements show that the cores are quiescent
relative to their environment on all scales analyzed.
Comparison of these observations with a suite of thin sheet MHD
simulations (spanning a range of magnetic field strengths and Mach
numbers) shows that it is difficult to simultaneously
reproduce the highly turbulent motions observed on the
largest scale of the molecular cloud while simultaneously
showing the quiescent motions seen on the scales of dense
cores within their local environment.  This may imply
the need to account for global effects of the cloud and turbulent
driving on the largest scales.