Related papers: The Challenge of Modelling Galactic Disks
We discuss recent observations of stars located close to the symmetry plane of the Milky Way, and examine them in the context of theories of Galaxy formation and evolution. The kinematics, ages, and compositions of thin disk stars in the…
Our understanding of the dynamical processes which control the structure and evolution of the interaction region between an accretion disk and the central star is reviewed. If the central star is unmagnetized, this interaction is in the…
Giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are the sites of star formation and stellar feedback in galaxies. Their properties set the initial conditions for star formation and their lifecycles determine how feedback regulates galaxy evolution. In recent…
Protoplanetary disks are the sites of planet formation, and the evolution and eventual dispersal of these disks strongly influences the formation of planetary systems. Disk evolution during the planet-forming epoch is driven by accretion…
This white paper is motivated by open questions in star formation, which can be uniquely addressed by high resolution X-ray imaging and require an X-ray observatory with large collecting area along good spectral resolution. A complete…
In the current galaxy formation scenarios, two physical phenomena are invoked to build disk galaxies: hierarchical mergers and more quiescent external gas accretion, coming from intergalactic filaments. Although both are thought to play a…
We study global star formation thresholds in the outer parts of galaxies by investigating the stability of disk galaxies embedded in dark halos. The disks are self-gravitating, contain metals and dust, and are exposed to UV radiation. We…
The large number of detected giant exoplanets offers the opportunity to improve our understanding of the formation mechanism, evolution, and interior structure of gas giant planets. The two main models for giant planet formation are core…
Protoplanetary disks are thought to be the birth places of planetary systems. The formation and the subsequent evolution of protoplanetary disks are regulated by the star formation process, which begins with the collapse of a cloud core to…
The great diversity of extrasolar planetary systems has challenged our understanding of how planets form, and how their orbits evolve as they form. Among the various processes that may account for this diversity, the gravitational…
Recent advances in our understanding of massive star formation have made clear the important role of protostellar disks in mediating accretion. Here we describe a simple, semi-analytic model for young, deeply embedded, massive accretion…
The subject of satellite formation is strictly linked to the one of planetary formation. Giant planets strongly shape the evolution of the circum-planetary disks during their formation and thus, indirectly, influence the initial conditions…
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…
I briefly review the growing evidence that thick stellar disks surround most edge-on disk galaxies. Recent studies show that these extragalactic thick disks have old ages, low metallicities, long scale lengths, and moderately flattened…
Major progress has been made over the last few years in understanding hydrodynamical processes on cosmological scales, in particular how galaxies get their baryons. There is increasing recognition that a large part of the baryons accrete…
We present a new set of multi-million particle SPH simulations of the formation of disk dominated galaxies in a cosmological context. Some of these galaxies are higher resolution versions of the models already described in Governato et al…
Dynamos in astrophysical disks are usually explained in terms of the standard alpha-omega mean field dynamo model where the local helicity generates a radial field component from an azimuthal field. The subsequent shearing of the radial…
Stars with circumstellar disks may form in environments with high stellar and gas densities which affects the disks through processes like truncation from dynamical encounters, ram pressure stripping, and external photoevaporation.…
We introduce a model which uses semi-analytic techniques to trace formation and evolution of galaxy disks in their cosmological context. For the first time we model the growth of gas and stellar disks separately. In contrast to previous…
This paper reports simulations allowing for stochastic accretion and mass loss within closed and open systems modeled using a previously developed multi-population, multi-zone (halo, thick disk, thin disk) treatment. The star formation rate…