Related papers: Variations in the Galactic star formation rate and…
The centre of our Galaxy is one of the most studied and yet enigmatic places in the Universe. At a distance of about 8 kpc from our Sun, the Galactic centre (GC) is the ideal environment to study the extreme processes that take place in the…
Star formation occurs on physical scales corresponding to individual star forming regions, typically of order ~100 parsecs in size, but current observational facilities cannot resolve these scales within field galaxies beyond the local…
Using hydrodynamical simulations of a Milky Way-like galaxy, reaching 4.6 pc resolution, we study how the choice of star formation criteria impacts both galactic and Giant Molecular Clouds (GMC) scales. We find that using a turbulent,…
Stars form within dense cores composed of both gas and dust within molecular clouds. However, despite the crucial role that dust plays in the star formation process, its dynamics is frequently overlooked, with the common assumption being 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…
We present a measurement of the age distribution of stars residing in spiral disks and dwarf galaxies. We derive a complete star formation history of the ~140 Mpc^3 covered by the volume-limited sample of galaxies in the Advanced Camera for…
We use deep far-infrared data from the PEP/GOODS-Herschel surveys and rest frame ultraviolet photometry to study the evolution of the molecular gas mass function of normal star forming galaxies. Computing the molecular gas mass, M(mol), by…
A dynamical model for star formation on a galactic scale is proposed in which the interstellar medium is constantly condensing to star-forming clouds on the dynamical time of the average midplane density, and the clouds are constantly being…
We recently proposed that the star-forming potential of dense molecular clouds in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ, i.e. the central few 100 pc) of the Milky Way is linked to their orbital dynamics, potentially giving rise to an…
With the help of a statistical parameter derived from optical spectra, we show that the current star formation rate of a galaxy, falling into a cluster along a supercluster filament, is likely to undergo a sudden enhancement before the…
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…
We present a robust method to constrain average galaxy star formation rates, star formation histories, and the intracluster light as a function of halo mass. Our results are consistent with observed galaxy stellar mass functions, specific…
Molecular clouds, the birthplaces of stars in galaxies, form dynamically from the diffuse atomic gas of the interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM is also threaded by magnetic fields which have a large impact on its dynamics. In particular,…
The molecular gas content of local early-type galaxies is constrained and discussed in relation to their evolution. First, as part of the Atlas3D survey, we present the first complete, large (260 objects), volume-limited single-dish survey…
Submillimeter bright galaxies in the early Universe are vigorously forming stars at ~1000 times higher rate than the Milky Way. A large fraction of stars is formed in the central 1 kiloparsec region, that is comparable in size to massive,…
The history of star formation in the strong gravitational potential of the Galactic center has been of much interest, recently. We propose that the sub-parsec-scale disk of massive stars orbiting the massive black hole at the Galactic…
From the time the first stars formed over 13 billion years ago to the present, star formation has had an unexpectedly dynamic history. At first, the star formation rate density increased dramatically, reaching a peak 10 billion years ago…
We test some ideas for star formation relations against data on local molecular clouds. On a cloud by cloud basis, the relation between the surface density of star formation rate and surface density of gas divided by a free-fall time,…
We study the recent star formation histories of local galaxies by analyzing the scatter in their colours and spectral properties. We present evidence that the distribution of star formation histories changes qualitatively above a…
Star clusters stand at the intersection of much of modern astrophysics: the interstellar medium, gravitational dynamics, stellar evolution, and cosmology. Here we review observations and theoretical models for the formation, evolution, and…