Related papers: From the molecular-cloud- to the embedded-cluster-…
The star-forming ability of a molecular cloud depends on the fraction of gas it can cycle into the dense-phase. Consequently, one of the crucial questions in reconciling star-formation in clouds is to understand the factors that control…
Clusters that form in total 10^3 < N < 10^5 stars (type II clusters) lose their gas within a dynamical time as a result of the photo-ionising flux from O stars. Sparser (type I) clusters get rid of their residual gas on a timescale longer…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
We review recent high spatial resolution millimeter continuum and spectral line observations of (proto-)cluster regions. These observations reveal that the mass distribution of prestellar cores is consistent with the initial mass function…
We present the results of a numerical study designed to address the question of whether there is a column density threshold for star formation within molecular clouds. We have simulated a large number of different clouds, with volume and…
Using radiation-hydrodynamic cosmological simulations, we present a detailed ($0.1$ pc resolution), physically motivated portrait of a typical-mass dwarf galaxy before the epoch of reionization, resolving the formation and evolution of star…
The realization that most stars form in clusters, raises the question of whether star/planet formation are influenced by the cluster environment. The stellar density in the most prevalent clusters is the key factor here. Whether dominant…
Most stars form in compact, dense embedded clusters with memberships ranging from a dozen stars to many millions of stars. Embedded clusters containing more than a few hundred stars also contain O stars that disrupt the nebula abruptly.…
Hydrodynamical simulations of turbulent molecular clouds show that star clusters form from the hierarchical merger of several sub-clumps. We run smoothed-particle hydrodynamics simulations of turbulence-supported molecular clouds with mass…
It is believed that the majority of stars form in clusters. Therefore it is likely that the gas physical conditions that prevail in forming clusters, largely determine the properties of stars that form and in particular the initial mass…
Young massive clusters (YMCs) have central stellar mass surface densities exceeding $10^{4} M_{\odot} pc^{-2}$. It is currently unknown whether the stars formed at such high (proto)stellar densities. We compile a sample of gas clouds in the…
We investigate the impact of the star formation efficiency in cluster forming cores on the evolution of the mass in star clusters over the age range 1-100Myr, when star clusters undergo their infant weight-loss/mortality phase. Assuming a…
(Abridged) The formation of molecular clouds (MCs) from the diffuse interstellar gas appears to be a necessary step for star formation, as young stars invariably occur within them. However, the mechanisms controlling the formation of MCs…
Stars form predominantly in clusters inside dense clumps of molecular clouds that are both turbulent and magnetized. The typical size and mass of the cluster-forming clumps are $\sim 1$ pc and $\sim 10^2 - $ 10$^3$ M$_\odot$, respectively.…
We investigate how the properties of Galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and their denser substructures (clumps) correlate with the local star formation rate. We trace clouds using the $^{12}$CO(3-2) transition, as observed by the CO…
We model the star formation relation of molecular clumps in dependence of their dense-gas mass when their volume density profile is that of an isothermal sphere, i.e. $\rho_{clump}(r) \propto r^{-2}$. Dense gas is defined as gas whose…
We describe an overall picture of galactic-scale star formation. Recent high-resolution magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of two-fluid dynamics with cooling/heating and thermal conduction have shown that the formation of molecular clouds…
We investigate star formation at very early evolutionary phases in five massive clouds in the inner 500 pc of the Galaxy, the Central Molecular Zone. Using interferometer observations of H$_2$O masers and ultra-compact H II regions, we find…
We compare the mass functions of young star clusters (ages $\leq 10$ Myr) and giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in six galaxies that cover a large range in mass, metallicity, and star formation rate (LMC, M83, M51, NGC 3627, the Antennae, and…
The goal of this paper is to test whether the formation rate of star clusters is proportional to the star formation rate (SFR) in galaxies. As a first step, we present the mass functions of compact clusters younger than 10 Myr in seven…