Related papers: Molecular Cloud Evolution
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.…
Recent observations have revealed a variety of young star clusters, including embedded systems, young massive clusters, and associations. We study the formation and dynamical evolution of these clusters using a combination of simulations…
Contemporary galactic star formation occurs predominantly within gravitationally unstable, cold, dense molecular gas within supersonic, turbulent, magnetized giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Significantly, because the chemical evolution…
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…
We demonstrate that the observationally inferred rapid onset of star formation after parental molecular clouds have assembled can be achieved by flow-driven cloud formation of atomic gas, using our previous three-dimensional numerical…
We discuss the mechanism of cluster formation in hierarchically collapsing molecular clouds. Recent evidence, both observational and numerical, suggests that molecular clouds (MCs) may be undergoing global, hierarchical gravitational…
We review the progress that has been made in observing and analyzing molecular cloud structure in recent years. Structures are self-similar over a wide range of scales with similar power law indices independent of the star forming nature of…
Stars are thought to form predominantly within filamentary molecular clouds. Recent studies have suggested that active star formation, including the formation of stellar clusters and massive stars, occurs within so-called "hub" structures,…
Star formation takes place in filamentary molecular clouds which arise by physical processes that take place in the cold, neutral medium (CNM). We address the necessary conditions for this diffuse ($n \approx 30$ cm$^{-3}$), cold (T…
In a recent paper, Elmegreen (2000) has made a cogent case, from an observational point of view, that the lifetimes of molecular clouds are comparable to their dynamical timescales. If so, this has important implications for the mechanisms…
The central molecular zone (CMZ) hosts some of the most massive and dense molecular clouds and star clusters in the Galaxy, offering an important window into star formation under extreme conditions. Star formation in this extreme…
Complex turbulent motions of magnetized gas are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. The source of this turbulence, however, is still poorly understood. Previous work suggests that compression caused by supernova shockwaves, gravity, or…
Observations show that molecular gas in spiral galaxies is organized into a network of interconnected systems through the gravitational coupling of multi-scale hub-filament structures. Building on this picture, we model molecular gas in the…
We present a steady-state analytical model for pressure-regulated formation of molecular clouds (MC) and stars (SF) in gaseous galactic disks and apply it to the Milky Way (MW). MC formation depends on midplane interstellar pressure…
We investigate giant molecular cloud (GMCs) collisions and their ability to induce gravitational instability and thus star formation. This mechanism may be a major driver of star formation activity in galactic disks. We carry out a series…
We investigate the propagation of a shock wave into a warm neutral medium and cold neutral medium by one-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations with detailed treatment of thermal and chemical processes. Our main result shows that thermal…
Recent observations suggest that intensive molecular cloud collision can trigger massive star/cluster formation. The most important physical process caused by the collision is a shock compression. In this paper, the influence of a shock…
We review the progress made in understanding molecular cloud formation and evolution toward star formation since the first Crete conference in 1990. It now seems clear that molecular clouds in the Galaxy at least form from compressed HI…
In the Galactic fountain scenario, supernovae and/or stellar winds propel material into the Galactic halo. As the material cools, it condenses into clouds. By using FLASH three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we model and study…
As part of a series of papers aimed at understanding the evolution of the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), we present hydrodynamical simulations of turbulent molecular clouds orbiting in an accurate model of the gravitational…