COLLAPSE OF MAGNETIZED SINGULAR ISOTHERMAL TOROIDS. I.THE NONROTATING CASE

We study numerically the collapse of nonrotating self-gravitating magnetized singular isothermal toroids characterized by sound speed, a, and level of magnetic to thermal support, H_0. In qualitative agreement with treatments by Galli & Shu and other workers, we find that the infalling material is deflected by the field lines toward the equatorial plane, creating a high-density flattened structure, a pseudodisk. The pseudodisk contracts dynamically in the radial direction, dragging the field lines and threading them into a highly pinched configuration that resembles a split monopole. The oppositely directed field lines across the midplane and the large implied stresses may play a role in how magnetic flux is lost in the actual situation in the presence of finite resistivity or ambipolar diffusion. The infall rate into the central regions is given to 5% uncertainty by the formula Ṁ = (1 + H₀)a³/G, where G is the universal gravitational constant, anticipated by semianalytical studies of the self-similar gravitational collapses of the singular isothermal sphere and isopedically magnetized disks. The introduction of finite initial rotation results in a complex interplay between pseudodisk and true (Keplerian) disk formation that is examined in a companion paper.