Star-forming filament models
  New models of star-forming filamentary clouds are presented, to quantify
their properties and to predict their evolution. These 2D axisymmetric models
describe filaments having no core, one low-mass core, and one cluster-forming
core. They are based on Plummer-like cylinders and spheroids, bounded by a
constant-density surface of finite extent. In contrast to 1D Plummer-like
models, they have specific values of length and mass, they approximate observed
column density maps, and their distributions of column density (N-pdfs) are
pole-free. Each model can estimate the star-forming potential of a
core-filament system, by identifying the zone of gas dense enough to form
low-mass stars, and by counting the number of enclosed thermal Jeans masses.
This analysis suggests that the Musca Center filament may be near the start of
its star-forming life, with enough dense gas to make its first ~3 protostars,
while the Coronet filament is near the midpoint of its star formation, with
enough dense gas to add ~ 8 protostars to its ~20 known stars. In contrast L43
appears near the end of its star-forming life, since it lacks enough dense gas
to add any new protostars to the 2 YSOs already known.
