When does thermal pressure become the final hurdle a collapsing core must clear to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium?
Answer
Only after the core shrinks sufficiently, decoupling from the magnetic field and dampening large-scale turbulence.
In the early stages, magnetic and turbulent forces dominate. Thermal pressure only becomes the final challenge once the core is dense enough to have overcome or decoupled from these initial, stronger non-thermal supports.
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