Related papers: Theory of Star Formation
We derive an analytic prediction for the star formation rate in environments ranging from normal galactic disks to starbursts and ULIRGs in terms of the observables of those systems. Our calculation is based on three premises: (1) star…
Studying outflows from young massive star-forming clusters allows one to deduce physical processes that lead to the formation of the most massive stars. I will review the current state of high-spatial-resolution interferometric (sub-)mm…
The major questions relevant to star and planet formation are: What controls the rate, efficiency, spatial clustering, multiplicity, and initial mass function of star formation, now and in the past? What are the major feedback mechanisms…
Stars form by the gravitational collapse of interstellar gas. The thermodynamic response of the gas can be characterized by an effective equation of state. It determines how gas heats up or cools as it gets compressed, and hence plays a key…
The conditions that lead to self-regulated star formation, star bursts and the formation of massive stellar clusters are discussed. Massive stars have a strong impact on their environment, especially on the evolution of dwarf galaxies which…
Giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are the primary reservoirs of cold, star-forming molecular gas in the Milky Way and similar galaxies, and thus any understanding of star formation must encompass a model for GMC formation, evolution, and…
The Interstellar Medium (ISM) is a complex, multi-phase system, where the history of the stars occurs. The processes of birth and death of stars are strongly coupled to the dynamics of the ISM. The observed chaotic and diffusive motions of…
In this contribution I present a review of star formation in clusters. I begin by discussing the various definitions of what constitutes a star cluster, and then compare the outcome of star formation (IMF, multiplicity, mass segregation and…
The transport of magnetic flux to outside of collapsing molecular clouds is a required step to allow the formation of stars. Although ambipolar diffusion is often regarded as a key mechanism for that, it has been recently argued that it may…
It has been known for more than 30 years that star formation in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) is slow, in the sense that only ~1% of the gas forms stars every free-fall time. This result is entirely independent of any particular model of…
Observations of star formation rates (SFRs) in galaxies provide vital clues to the physical nature of the Hubble sequence, and are key probes of the evolutionary properties of galaxies. The focus of this review is on the broad patterns in…
Nearly all of the initial angular momentum of the matter that goes into each forming star must somehow be removed or redistributed during the formation process. The possible transport mechanisms and the possible fates of the excess angular…
Star formation depends on the available gaseous "fuel" as well as galactic environment, with higher specific star formation rates where gas is predominantly molecular and where stellar (and dark matter) densities are higher. The partition…
We study gravitational instability and consequent star formation in a wide range of isolated disk galaxies, using three-dimensional, smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations at resolution sufficient to fully resolve gravitational…
We present an analytical determination of the star formation rate (SFR) in molecular clouds, based on a time-dependent extension of our analytical theory of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). The theory yields SFR's in good agreement…
We suggest a model for star formation function and a model for dissipation of the turbulent energy of interstellar medium. Star formation function takes into account the effect of turbulization of the ISM. It is shown that application of…
Stars form in embedded star clusters which play a key role in determining the properties of a galaxy's stellar population. Physical mechanisms discussed in this paper are runaway stars shot out from young clusters, binary-star disruption in…
The Schmidt-Kennicutt relation links the surface densities of gas to the star formation rate in galaxies. The physical origin of this relation, and in particular its break, i.e. the transition between an inefficient regime at low gas…
To make predictions for the existence of ``dark galaxies'', it is necessary to understand what determines whether a gas cloud will form stars. Star formation thresholds are generally explained in terms of the Toomre criterion for…
The strongest starbursts are observed towards galaxy nuclei, or circumnuclear regions. However in interacting galaxies, star formation is also triggered in overlap regions far from nuclei, in spiral arms and sometimes in tidal tails. What…