Related papers: Star formation in turbulent molecular clouds with …
Aims: We derive the probability density functions (PDFs) of column density for a complete sample of prominent molecular cloud complexes closer than 200 pc. Methods: We derive near-infrared dust extinction maps for 23 molecular cloud…
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…
The structure of molecular clouds can be characterized with the probability distribution function (PDF) of the mass surface density. In particular, the properties of the distribution can reveal the nature of the turbulence and star…
It has been recently shown that molecular clouds do not exhibit a unique shape for the column density probability distribution function (Npdf). Instead, clouds without star formation seem to possess a lognormal distribution, while clouds…
Despite the simplicity of theoretical models of supersonically turbulent, isothermal media, their predictions successfully match the observed gas structure and star formation activity within low-pressure (P/k < 10^5 K cm^-3) molecular…
The majority of stars are thought to form in clusters. Cluster formation in dense clumps of molecular clouds is strongly influenced, perhaps controlled, by supersonic turbulence. We have previously shown that the turbulence in regions of…
Stars form in supersonic turbulent molecular clouds that are self-gravitating. We present an analytic determination of the star formation rate (SFR) in a gravoturbulent medium based on the density probability distribution function of…
We analyse extinction maps of nearby Giant Molecular Clouds to forge a link between driving processes of turbulence and modes of star formation. Our investigation focuses on cloud structure in the column density range above the self…
We study the formation of giant dense cloud complexes and of stars within them by means of SPH numerical simulations of the mildly supersonic collision of gas streams (``inflows'') in the warm neutral medium (WNM). The resulting…
The classical picture of a star-forming filament is a near-equilibrium structure, with collapse dependent on its gravitational criticality. Recent observations have complicated this picture, revealing filaments as a mess of apparently…
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…
Molecular clouds (MCs) are highly structured and ``turbulent''. Colliding gas streams of atomic hydrogen have been suggested as a possible source of MCs, imprinting the filamentary structure as a consequence of dynamical and thermal…
We examine the idea that diffuse and giant molecular clouds and their substructure form as density fluctuations induced by large scale interstellar turbulence. We do this by investigating the topology of various fields in realistic…
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…
Both observational and theoretical research over the past decade has demonstrated that the probability distribution function (PDF) of the gas density in turbulent molecular clouds is a key ingredient for understanding star formation. It has…
We conduct numerical experiments to determine the density probability distribution function (PDF) produced in supersonic, isothermal, self-gravitating turbulence of the sort that is ubiquitous in star-forming molecular clouds. Our…
We present N-PDFs of 29 Galactic regions obtained from Herschel imaging at high angular resolution, covering diffuse and quiescent clouds, and those showing low-, intermediate-, and high-mass star formation (SF), and characterize the cloud…
The observed rapid onset of star formation in molecular clouds requires rapid formation of dense fragments which can collapse individually before being overtaken by global gravitationally-driven flows. Many previous investigations have…
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…
We present the results of SPH simulations in which two clouds, each having mass $M_{_{\rm{o}}}\!=\!500\,{\rm M}_{_\odot}$ and radius $R_{_{\rm{o}}}\!=\!2\,{\rm pc}$, collide head-on at relative velocities of $\Delta v_{_{\rm{o}}}…