Related papers: Molecular cloud formation in high-shear, magnetize…
We review recent results from numerical simulations and related models of MHD turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds. We discuss the implications of turbulence for the processes of cloud formation and evolution,…
Young massive clusters (YMCs) are recently formed astronomical objects with unusually high star formation rates. We propose the collision of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) as a likely formation mechanism of YMCs, consistent with the YMC…
Molecular-line observations of star-forming cloud cores indicate that they are not the flattened structures traditionally considered by theory. Rather, they are elongated, perhaps in the direction of their internal magnetic field. We are…
We investigate prestellar core formation and accretion based on three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Our simulations represent local $\sim 1$pc regions within giant molecular clouds where a supersonic turbulent flow converges,…
Stars form predominantly in clusters inside dense clumps of molecular clouds that are both turbulent and magnetized. The typical size and mass of the cluster-forming clumps are $\sim 1$ pc and $\sim 10^2 - $ 10$^3$ M$_\odot$, respectively.…
We investigate the physical properties of dense cores formed in turbulent, magnetized, parsec-scale clumps of molecular clouds, using three-dimensional numerical simulations that include protostellar outflow feedback. The dense cores are…
We employ the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation including ambipolar diffusion to study the gravitationally-driven fragmentation of subcritical molecular clouds, in which the gravitational fragmentation is stabilized as long…
We present an in-depth case study of three molecular clouds associated with the walls of the Galactic supershells GSH 287+04-17 and GSH 277+00+36. These clouds have been identified in previous work as examples in which molecular gas is…
We present numerical simulations of the adiabatic interaction of a shock with a clumpy region containing many individual clouds. Our work incorporates a sub-grid turbulence model which for the first time makes this investigation feasible.…
We present numerical simulations of the passage of clumpy gas through a galactic spiral shock and the subsequent formation of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). The spiral shock forms dense clouds while dissipating kinetic energy, producing…
Considering the physical conditions that are relevant for triggering star formation in interactions involving SN shocks and neutral clouds, we have built diagrams of the SNR radius versus the cloud density in which these conditions…
Contemporary galactic star formation occurs predominantly within gravitationally unstable, cold, dense molecular gas within supersonic, turbulent, magnetized giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Significantly, because the chemical evolution…
We performed a search of star-forming sites influenced by external factors, such as SNRs, HII regions, and cloud-cloud collisions, to understand the star-forming activity in the Galactic center region using the NRO Galactic Center Survey in…
We present 2D adiabatic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a shock interacting with groups of two or three cylindrical clouds. We study how the presence of a nearby cloud influences the dynamics of this interaction, and explore the…
In giant molecular clouds (GMCs), shocks driven by converging turbulent flows create high-density, strongly-magnetized regions that are locally sheetlike. In previous work, we showed that within these layers, dense filaments and embedded…
Cloud-cloud collisions in splash bridges produced in gas-rich disk galaxy collisions offer a brief but interesting environment to study the effects of shocks and turbulence on star formation rates in the diffuse IGM, far from the…
The MHD version of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, MG, has been employed to study the interaction of thermal instability, magnetic fields and gravity through 3D simulations of the formation of collapsing cold clumps on the scale of…
We investigate the roles of magnetic fields and ambipolar diffusion during prestellar core formation in turbulent giant molecular clouds (GMCs), using three-dimensional numerical simulations. Our simulations focus on the shocked layer…
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 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…