Related papers: Shock-triggered formation of magnetically-dominate…
We investigate numerically the combined effects of supersonic turbulence, strong magnetic fields and ambipolar diffusion on cloud evolution leading to star formation. We find that, in clouds that are initially magnetically subcritical,…
We present the results of a numerical simulation in which star formation proceeds from an initially unbound molecular cloud core. The turbulent motions, which dominate the dynamics, dissipate in shocks leaving a quiescent region which…
Recent observations of molecular clouds show that dense filaments are the sites of present-day star formation. Thus, it is necessary to understand the filament formation process because these filaments provide the initial condition for star…
Dense pockets of cold, molecular gas precede the formation of stars. During their infancy and later phases of evolution, stars inject considerable energy into the interstellar medium by driving shocks either due to ionising radiation or…
We performed one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with detailed cooling, heating and chemical processes to examine the thermal stability of shocked gas in cold neutral medium (CNM) and molecular clouds. We find that both CNM and…
Observations of magnetic field strengths imply that molecular cloud fragments are individually close to being in a magnetically critical state, even though both magnetic field and column density measurements range over two orders of…
We present numerical simulations of the passage of clumpy gas through a galactic spiral shock, the subsequent formation of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and the triggering of star formation. The spiral shock forms dense clouds while…
We analyse extinction maps of nearby Giant Molecular Clouds to forge a link between driving processes of turbulence and modes of star formation. Our investigation focuses on cloud structure in the column density range above the self…
We present an idealized, spherical model of the evolution of a magnetized molecular cloud due to ambipolar diffusion. This model allows us to follow the quasi-static evolution of the cloud's core prior to collapse and the subsequent…
We investigate chemistry in the compression layer behind the interstellar shock waves, where molecular cloud formation starts. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulations of converging flows of atomic gas with shock…
Supernovae from core-collapse of massive stars drive shocks into the molecular clouds from which the stars formed. Such shocks affect future star formation from the molecular clouds, and the fast-moving, dense gas with compressed magnetic…
Star formation in our Galaxy occurs in molecular clouds that are self-gravitating, highly turbulent, and magnetized. We study the conditions under which cloud cores inherit large-scale magnetic field morphologies and how the field is…
Molecular clouds (MCs) are stellar nurseries, however, formation of stars within MCs depends on the ambient physical conditions. MCs, over a free-fall time are exposed to numerous dynamical phenomena, of which, the interaction with a thin,…
Molecular Cloud Complexes (MCCs) are highly structured and ``turbulent''. Observational evidence suggests that MCCs are dynamically dominated systems, rather than quasi-equilibrium entities. The observed structure is more likely a…
Massive stars form in clusters within self-gravitating molecular clouds. The size scale of these clusters is sufficiently large that non-thermal, or turbulent, motions of the gas must be taken into account when considering their formation.…
We describe a numerical implementation of star formation in disk galaxies, in which the conversion of cooling gas to stars in the multiphase interstellar medium is governed by the rate at which molecular clouds are formed and destroyed. In…
Observational evidence from local star-forming regions mandates that star formation occurs shortly after, or even during, molecular cloud formation. Models of the formation of molecular clouds in large-scale converging flows have identified…
It has long been suggested that shocks might play an important role in altering the form of the interstellar medium (ISM). Shocks enhance gas density and sufficiently dense regions may become self gravitating. Potential star forming clouds…
We follow the ambipolar-diffusion--driven formation and evolution of a fragment in a magnetically supported molecular cloud, until a hydrostatic protostellar core forms at its center. This problem was formulated in Paper I. We determine the…
Shocks may have been prevalent in the early Universe, associated with virialization and supernova explosions, etc. Here, we study thermal evolution and fragmentation of shock-compressed clouds, by using a one-zone model with detailed…