Related papers: Assessing the Formation of Solid Hydrogen Objects …
Does star formation proceed in the same way in large spirals such as the Milky Way and in smaller chemically younger galaxies? Earlier work suggests a more rapid transformation of H$_2$ into stars in these objects but (1) a doubt remains…
Capture of interstellar objects (ISOs) into the Solar system is dominated by ISOs with asymptotic incoming speeds $v_\infty<4\,$km\,s$^{-1}$. The capture rate is proportional to the ISO phase-space density in the Solar vicinity and does not…
Stars form in the dense interiors of molecular clouds. The dynamics and physical properties of the atomic interstellar medium (ISM) set the conditions under which molecular clouds and eventually stars will form. It is, therefore, critical…
Condensation of H 2 in the interstellar medium (ISM) has long been seen as a possibility, either by deposition on dust grains or thanks to a phase transition combined with self-gravity. H 2 condensation might explain the observed low…
Our understanding of how molecular clouds form in the interstellar medium (ISM) would be greatly helped if we had a reliable observational tracer of the gas flows responsible for forming the clouds. Fine structure emission from singly…
We are conducting COLD GASS, a legacy survey for molecular gas in nearby galaxies. Using the IRAM 30m telescope, we measure the CO(1-0) line in a sample of ~350 nearby (D=100-200 Mpc), massive galaxies (log(M*/Msun)>10.0). The sample is…
We present maps of the column densities of H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and CO ices towards the molecular cores B~35A, DC~274.2-00.4, BHR~59, and DC~300.7-01.0. These ice maps, probing spatial distances in molecular cores as low as 2200~AU, challenge…
We present the results of a mid-infrared (7 micron) imaging survey of a sample of 24 starless dense cores carried out at an angular resolution of 6 arcsec with the ISOCAM camera aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The targeted…
We mapped the MSX dark cloud G084.81-01.09 in the NH3 (1,1) - (4,4) lines and in the J = 1-0 transitions of 12CO, 13CO, C18O and HCO+ in order to study the physical properties of infrared dark clouds, and to better understand the initial…
The evolution of collapsing metal free protostellar clouds is investigated for various masses and initial conditions. We perform hydrodynamical calculations for spherically symmetric clouds taking account of radiative transfer of the…
In this review, I discuss recent detailed studies of individual molecular clouds in M33 in higher rotational transitions of CO, 13CO, and the fine structure line of atomic carbon. These data reveal that the temperature and density of the…
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…
A rapid accumulation of observations and interpretation have followed in the wake of 1I `Oumuamua's passage through the inner Solar System. We briefly outline the consequences that this first detection of an interstellar asteroid implies…
The reactions of cold H atoms with solid O2 molecules were investigated at 10 K. The formation of H2O2 and H2O has been confirmed by in-situ infrared spectroscopy. We found that the reaction proceeds very efficiently and obtained the…
Star-formation in the outer Galaxy is thought to be different from the inner Galaxy, as it is subject to different environmental parameters such as metallicity, interstellar radiation field, or mass surface density that all change with…
At low temperatures, the main coolant in primordial gas is molecular hydrogen, H2. Recent work has shown that primordial gas that is not collapsing gravitationally but is cooling from an initially ionized state forms hydrogen deuteride, HD,…
Population III stars are the first stars in the Universe to form at z=20-30 out of a pure hydrogen and helium gas in minihalos of 10^5-10^6 M$_\odot$ . Cooling and fragmentation is thus regulated via molecular hydrogen. At densities above…
Water is essential to our understanding of the planet-formation process and habitability on Earth. Although trace amounts of water are seen across all phases of star and planet formation, the bulk of the water reservoir often goes…
We simulate the ionization environment of z ~ 20 luminous objects formed within the framework of the current CDM cosmology and compute their UV escape fraction. These objects are likely single very massive stars that are copious UV…
Urea is a prebiotic molecule that has been detected in few sources of the interstellar medium (ISM) and in Murchison meteorite. Being stable against ultraviolet radiation and high-energy electron bombardment, urea is expected to be present…