Related papers: The New Frontier: Galactic-Scale Star Formation
Star formation occurs in hierarchical patterns in both space and time. Galaxies form large regions on the scale of the interstellar Jeans length and these large regions apparently fragment into giant molecular clouds and cloud cores in a…
We present B, R, and Halpha imaging data of 19 large disk galaxies whose properties are intermediate between classical low surface brightness galaxies and ordinary high surface brightness galaxies. We use data taken from the Lowell 1.8m…
This paper presents a review of the topic of galaxy formation and evolution, focusing on basic features of galaxies, and how these observables reveal how galaxies and their stars assemble over cosmic time. I give an overview of the observed…
Whereas the understanding of most phases of stellar evolution made considerable progress throughout the whole of the twentieth century, stellar formation remained rather enigmatic and poorly constrained by observations until about three…
Using a recently-developed technique to estimate gas temperatures ($T_\textrm{SF}$) in star-forming regions from large photometric surveys, we propose a diagram, analogous to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for individual stars, to probe…
In this chapter, we will cover how stars form from the stellar nurseries that are giant molecular clouds. We will first review the physical processes that compete to regulate star formation. We then review star formation in turbulent,…
The timescale over which planets may form in the circumstellar disks of young stars is one of the main issues of current planetary formation models. We present here new constraints on planet formation timescales derived from the rotational…
Cloud environment is thought to play a critical role in determining the mechanism of formation of massive stars. In this contribution we review the physical characteristics of the environment around recently formed massive stars. Particular…
This presentation summarizes how some of the most pressing questions in the field of star and planet formation can be addressed by high angular resolution optical/infrared capabilities, and how many of these capabilities will in fact be…
During the last decade, the understanding of fine features of the structure and evolution of stars has become possible as a result of enormous progress made in the acquisition of high-quality observational and experimental data and of new…
I review recent observational and theoretical progress in our understanding of the cosmic evolution of luminous sources. Largely due to a combination of deep HST imaging, Keck spectroscopy, and COBE far-IR background measurements, new…
I briefly review some measures of star formation rates in galaxies and discuss their respective uncertainties before outlining the range of star formation rates encountered in starbursts from isolated dwarf through massive gas-rich…
During the last two decades, the focus of star formation research has shifted from understanding the collapse of a single dense core into a star to studying the formation hundreds to thousands of stars in molecular clouds. In this chapter,…
[abridged] Unbound young stellar systems, the loose ensembles of physically related young bright stars, trace the typical regions of recent star formation in galaxies. Their morphologies vary from small associations of stars to enormous…
At the turn of the decade we arguably move from the era of precision cosmology to the era of galaxy formation. One approach to this problem will be via the construction of comprehensive galaxy samples. In this review I take the opportunity…
Galactic bulges are central to understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Here we report on recent studies using micro-lensing events to obtain spectra of high resolution and moderately high signal-to-noise ratios of dwarf stars in the…
The elegance of inflationary cosmology and cosmological perturbation theory ends with the formation of the first stars and galaxies, the initial sources of light that launched the phenomenologically rich process of cosmic reionization. Here…
Star formation has often been studied by separating the low- and high-mass regimes with an approximate boundary at 8M_sun. While some of the outcomes of the star-formation process are different between the two regimes, it is less clear…
Galaxy morphology is a product of how galaxies formed, how they interacted with their environment, how they were influenced by internal perturbations, AGN, and dark matter, and of their varied star formation histories. This article reviews…
For millennia, mankind has been fascinated by the marvel of the starry night sky. Yet, a proper scientific understanding of how stars form, shine, and die is a relatively recent achievement, made possible by the interplay of different…