Related papers: The dynamics of collapsing cores and star formatio…
Star formation is thought to be driven by two groups of mechanisms; spontaneous collapse and triggered collapse. Triggered star formation mechanisms further diverge into cloud-cloud collision (CCC), "collect and collapse" (C\&C) and shock…
Low-mass protostars form from condensations inside molecular clouds when gravity overwhelms thermal and magnetic supporting forces. The first phases of the formation of a solar-type star are characterized by dramatic changes not only in the…
We investigate, through a series of numerical calculations, the evolution of dense cores that are accreting external gas up to and beyond the point of star formation. Our model clouds are spherical, unmagnetized configurations with fixed…
In young star clusters, the density can be high enough and the velocity dispersion low enough for stars to collide and merge with a significant probability. This has been suggested as a possible way to build up the high-mass portion of the…
We present combined Submillimeter-Array (SMA) + single-dish images of the (sub)millimeter dust continuum emission toward two prestellar cores SM1 and B2-N5 in the nearest star cluster forming region, $\rho$ Ophiuchus. Our combined images…
We consider the relationship between molecular-gas and star-formation surface densities in 19 morphologically defined E/S0s with stellar mass <~ 4x10^10 M_sun, paying particular attention to those found on the blue sequence in color vs.…
How do stars manage to form within low-density, HI-dominated gas? Such environments provide a laboratory for studying star formation with physical conditions distinct from starbursts and the metal-rich disks of spiral galaxies where most…
How molecular clouds fragment and create the dense structures which go on to form stars is an open question. We investigate the relative importance of different energy terms (kinetic, thermal, magnetic, and gravity - both self-gravity and…
Newborn stars form within the localized, high density regions of molecular clouds. The sequence and rate at which stars form in dense clumps and the dependence on local and global environments are key factors in developing descriptions of…
The theory of how low mass stars form from the collapse of a dense molecular cloud core has been well-established for decades. Thanks to significant progress in computing and numerical modelling, more physical models have been developed and…
A fundamental issue in star formation is understanding the precise mechanisms leading to the formation of prestellar cores, and their subsequent gravitationally unstable evolution. To address this question, we carefully construct a suite of…
We explore, through a simplified, semi-analytic model, the formation of dense clusters containing massive stars. The parent cloud spawning the cluster is represented as an isothermal sphere. This sphere is in near force balance between…
A brief summary is presented of our current knowledge of the structure of cold molecular cloud cores that do not contain protostars, sometimes known as starless cores. The most centrally condensed starless cores are known as pre-stellar…
Modeling of the self-consistent formation and evolution of disks as a result of prestellar core collapse reveals an intense early phase of recurrent gravitational instability and clump formation. These clumps generally migrate inward due to…
Stars form by gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. The supersonic turbulence ubiquitously observed in Galactic molecular gas generates strong density fluctuations with gravity taking over in the densest and most massive…
Tracing dust in small dense molecular cores is a powerful tool to study the conditions required for ices to form during the pre-stellar phase. To study these environments, five molecular cores were observed: three with ongoing low-mass star…
Fifty-one dense cores associated with water masers were mapped at 350 micron. These cores are very luminous, 10^3 < Lbol/Lsun < 10^6, indicative of the formation of massive stars. Dust continuum contour maps and photometry are presented for…
Massive stars play an important role in the Universe. Unlike low-mass stars, the formation of these objects located at great distances is still unclear. It is expected to be governed by some combination of self-gravity, turbulence, and…
Gravitationally-bound clusters that survive gas removal represent an unusual mode of star formation in the Milky Way and similar spiral galaxies. While forming, they can be distinguished observationally from unbound star formation by their…
We investigate the collapse and fragmentation of low-mass, trans-sonically turbulent prestellar cores, using SPH simulations. The initial conditions are slightly supercritical Bonnor-Ebert spheres, all with the same density profile, the…