Related papers: Inefficient star formation through turbulence, mag…
Understanding the star formation process is central to much of modern astrophysics. For several decades it has been thought that stellar birth is primarily controlled by the interplay between gravity and magnetostatic support, modulated by…
The physics of star formation and the deposition of mass, momentum, and energy into the interstellar medium by massive stars (`feedback') are the main uncertainties in modern cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution. These…
We present a suite of 3D multi-physics MHD simulations following star formation in isolated turbulent molecular gas disks ranging from 5 to 500 parsecs in radius. These simulations are designed to survey the range of surface densities…
We present magnetohydrodynamic simulations aimed at studying the effect of the magnetic suppression of turbulence (generated through various instabilities during the formation of molecular clouds by converging) on the subsequent star…
We review current understanding of star formation, outlining an overall theoretical framework and the observations that motivate it. A conception of star formation has emerged in which turbulence plays a dual role, both creating…
The observed star formation rate (SFR) in galaxies is well below what it should be if gravitational collapse alone were at play. It has recently been shown that one candidate that might regulate star formation, the feedback from massive…
We investigate the properties of "star forming regions" in a previously published numerical simulation of molecular cloud formation out of compressive motions in the warm neutral atomic interstellar medium, neglecting magnetic fields and…
We explain the large variety of star formation laws in terms of one single, simple law that can be inferred from the definition of the star formation rate and basic algebra. The resulting equation, $\SFR = \eff\ \Mcollapsing/\tauff$,…
This paper summarises results from semi-analytical modelling of star formation in protocluster clumps of different metallicities. In this model, gravitationally bound cores form uniformly in the clump following a prescribed core formation…
It has been suggested that, if the free-fall time of star-forming clouds is shorter than the lifetime ($\approx 3 $ Myr) of massive stars exploding as supernovae (SN), a large fraction of the cloud gas can be converted into stars during an…
We present the results of a numerical simulation in which star formation proceeds from an initially unbound molecular cloud core. The turbulent motions, which dominate the dynamics, dissipate in shocks leaving a quiescent region which…
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…
This work presents a new physical model of the star formation rate (SFR), verified with an unprecedented set of large numerical simulations of driven, supersonic, self-gravitating, magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, where collapsing…
Observed molecular clouds often appear to have very low star formation efficiencies and lifetimes an order of magnitude longer than their free-fall times. Their support is attributed to the random supersonic motions observed in them. We…
We examine the effect of magnetic fields on star cluster formation by performing simulations following the self-gravitating collapse of a turbulent molecular cloud to form stars in ideal MHD. The collapse of the cloud is computed for global…
Star formation in magnetically subcritical clouds is investigated using a three-dimensional non-ideal magneto-hydrodynamics simulation. Since rapid cloud collapse is suppressed until the magnetic flux is sufficiently removed from the…
We investigate how star formation efficiency can be significantly decreased by the removal of a molecular cloud's envelope by feedback from an external source. Feedback from star formation has difficulties halting the process in dense gas…
Recent observational studies aiming to quantify the molecular cloud lifecycle require the use of known 'reference time-scales' to turn the relative durations of different phases of the star formation process into absolute time-scales. We…
We use magnetohydrodynamical simulations of converging warm neutral medium flows to analyse the formation and global evolution of magnetised and turbulent molecular clouds subject to supernova feedback from massive stars. We show that…
We examine the stability of feedback-regulated star formation (SF) in galactic nuclei and contrast it to SF in extended discs. In galactic nuclei the dynamical time becomes shorter than the time over which feedback from young stars evolves.…