Related papers: The highly variable time evolution of star-forming…
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…
Most stars - especially young stars - are observed to be in multiple systems. Dynamical evolution is unable to pair stars efficiently, which leads to the conclusion that star-forming cores must usually fragment into \geq 2 stars. However,…
High levels of deuterium fraction in N$_2$H$^+$ are observed in some pre-stellar cores. Single-zone chemical models find that the timescale required to reach observed values ($D_{\rm frac}^{{\rm N}_2{\rm H}^+} \equiv {\rm N}_2{\rm D}^+/{\rm…
Theory predicts, and observations confirm, that the column density ratio of a molecule containing D to its counterpart containing H can be used as an evolutionary tracer in the low-mass star formation process. Since it remains unclear if…
Recent surveys of star forming regions have shown that most stars, and probably all massive stars, are born in dense stellar clusters. The mechanism by which a molecular cloud fragments to form several hundred to thousands of individual…
We have investigated the evolution and distribution of molecules in collapsing prestellar cores via numerical chemical models, adopting the Larson-Penston solution and its delayed analogues to study collapse. Molecular abundances and…
Open and globular star clusters have served as benchmarks for the study of stellar evolution due to their supposed nature as simple stellar populations of the same age and metallicity. After a brief review of some of the pioneering work…
We analyze an ensemble of simulated prestellar cores to facilitate interpretation of structure, kinematics, and lifetime of observed cores. While our theory predicts a "characteristic" density for star formation, it also predicts that the…
We discuss the lifetimes and evolution of clumps and cores formed as turbulent density fluctuations in nearly isothermal molecular clouds. In the non-magnetic case, clumps are unlikely to reach a hydrostatic state, and instead are expected…
Motivated by the observation of extended stellar cores in dark matter (DM) dominated dwarf galaxies, this study investigates a simple mechanism by which stellar cores can form as a result of DM halo expansion. Several non-CDM models predict…
Star formation in strongly self-gravitating cloud cores should be similar at all redshifts, forming single or multiple stars with a range of masses determined by local magneto-hydrodynamics and gravity. The formation processes for these…
The distribution of protostar masses is studied for core-environment systems whose duration of infall follows a waiting-time distribution. Each core-environment system has a continuous density profile with no barrier to mass flow. The core…
This work explores the morphology and dynamical properties of cores within rich superclusters, highlighting their role as transitional structures in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Using projected and radial velocity…
Recent observations have revealed a variety of young star clusters, including embedded systems, young massive clusters, and associations. We study the formation and dynamical evolution of these clusters using a combination of simulations…
Dense low mass cores in nearby clouds like Taurus and Auriga are some of the simplest sites currently forming stars like our Sun. Because of their simplicity and proximity, dense cores offer the clearest view of the different phases of star…
The evolution of circumstellar discs is influenced by their surroundings. The relevant processes include external photoevaporation due to nearby stars, and dynamical truncations. The impact of these processes on disc populations depends on…
We present a detailed study of the collapse of molecular cloud cores using high resolution 3D adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) numerical simulations. In this first in a series of investigations our initial conditions consists of spherical…
Hydrodynamical simulations of star formation indicate that the motions of protostars through their natal molecular clouds may be crucial in determining the properties of stars through competitive accretion and dynamical interactions. Walsh,…
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…
Using 17 chemical elements as a proxy for stellar DNA, we present a full phylogenetic study of stars in the solar neighbourhood. This entails applying a clustering technique that is widely used in molecular biology to construct an…