Submillimetre continuum observations of pre-protostellar cores

Results are outlined of a JCMT submillimetre continuum survey of Myers cores that have no known infrared associations - the so-called starless cores. Detailed parameters are calculated, such as temperature, mass, luminosity and radial density dependence. On the basis of lifetime and luminosity arguments, the cores are found to be pre-protostellar in nature, undergoing the ambipolar diffusion phase prior to protostellar collapse. The cores do not follow the r^–2 density dependence predicted by the standard model, but are consistent with a recent model of magnetic support of cloud cores.