Related papers: The Milky Way as a Star Formation Engine
Most stars are born in rich young stellar clusters (YSCs) embedded in giant molecular clouds. The most massive stars live out their short lives there, profoundly influencing their natal environments by ionizing HII regions, inflating…
We present hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating dense gas in a galactic disk, exploring scales ranging from 1 kpc down to $\sim 0.1$~pc. Our primary goal is to understand how dense filaments form in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs).…
We present the results from simulations of GMC formation in spiral galaxies. First we discuss cloud formation by cloud-cloud collisions, and gravitational instabilities, arguing that the former is prevalent at lower galactic surface…
ALMA Cycle 2 observations of the long wavelength dust emission in 145 star-forming galaxies are used to probe the evolution of star-forming ISM. We also develop the physical basis and empirical calibration (with 72 low-z and z ~ 2 galaxies)…
Recent studies show the importance of feedback in the evolution of the star formation rate in the Universe. However, the nature and physics of the feedback are still pressing questions. Radio continuum observations can provide unique…
The low density interstellar medium (ISM) close to the Sun and inside of the heliosphere provides a unique laboratory for studying interstellar dust grains. Grain characteristics in the nearby ISM are obtained from observations of…
We present a novel framework to self-consistently model the effects of radiation fields, dust physics and molecular chemistry (H$_2$) in the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. The model combines a state-of-the-art radiation…
In a new simple model I reconcile two contradictory views on the factors that determine the rate at which molecular clouds form stars -- internal structure vs. external, environmental influences -- providing a unified picture for the…
The abundance evolution of interstellar dust species originating from stellar sources and from condensation in molecular clouds in the local interstellar medium of the Milky Way is studied and the input of dust material to the Solar System…
The line of sight through the Galactic Plane between longitudes l = 37.83 degr and l = 42.50 degr allows for the separation of Galactic Ring Survey molecular clouds into those that fall within the spiral arms and those located in the…
The cloud-scale density, velocity dispersion, and gravitational boundedness of the interstellar medium (ISM) vary within and among galaxies. In turbulent models, these properties play key roles in the ability of gas to form stars. New high…
Using a cosmological galactic evolutionary approach to model the Milky Way, we calculate the star formation history (SFH) of the solar neighborhood. The good agreement we obtain with the observational inferences suggests that our physical…
Star formation is inefficient. Recent advances in numerical simulations and theoretical models of molecular clouds show that the combined effects of interstellar turbulence, magnetic fields and stellar feedback can explain the low…
Volume density is a key physical quantity controlling the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and star formation, but it cannot be accessed directly by observations of molecular clouds. We aim at estimating the volume density…
The interstellar medium (ISM) is a fundamental component of the Milky Way. Studying its chemical composition and the level of its chemical diversity gives us insight into the evolution of the Milky Way and the role of gas in the Galactic…
FIR and submm observations have established the fundamental role of dust-obscured star formation in the assembly of stellar mass over the past 12 billion years. At z between 2 and 4, the bulk of star formation is enshrouded in dust, and…
Molecules and dust are formed in and around the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and supernovae (SNe), and are ejected into the interstellar medium (ISM) through the stellar wind. The dust and gas contain elements newly synthesised in…
Understanding how galaxies quench their star formation is crucial for studies of galaxy evolution. Quenching is related to the cold gas decrease. In the first paper we showed that the dust removal timescale in early-type galaxies (ETGs) is…
The chemical abundances in the atmosphere of a star provide unique information about the gas from which that star formed, and, modulo processes that are not important for the vast majority of stars, such as mass transfer in close binary…
Filaments are ubiquitous in the universe. Recent observations have revealed that stars and star clusters form preferentially along dense filaments. Understanding the formation and properties of filaments is therefore a crucial step in…