  (Abrigded) We discuss the column density profiles of "cores" in 3D SPH
numerical simulations of turbulent molecular clouds. The SPH scheme allows us
to perform a high spatial resolution analysis of the density maxima (cores) at
scales between ~0.003 and 0.3pc. We analyze simulations in three different
physical conditions: large scale driving, small scale driving, and random
Gaussian initial conditions without driving; each one at two different
timesteps: just before self-gravity is turned-on, and when gravity has been
operating such that 5% of the total mass in the box has been accretted into
cores. For this dataset, we perform Bonnor-Ebert fits to the column density
profiles of cores. We find that 65% of the cores can be matched to Bonnor-Ebert
profiles, and of these, 47% correspond to stable equilibrium configurations
with xi_max < 6.5, even though the cores analyzed in the simulations are not in
equilibrium, but instead are dynamically evolving. We also find in some cases
substantial superposition effects when we analyze the projection of the density
structures. As a consequence, different projections of the same core may give
very different values of the BE fits. Finally, we briefly discuss recent
results claiming that Bok globule B68 is in hydrostatic equilibrium, stressing
that they imply that this core is unstable by a wide margin. We conclude that
fitting BE profiles to observed cores is not an unambiguous test of hydrostatic
equilibrium, and that fit-estimated parameters of the BE sphere may differ
significantly from the actual values in the cores.
