Related papers: Magnetic fields in star formation: from clouds to …
The transport of magnetic flux to outside of collapsing molecular clouds is a required step to allow the formation of stars. Although ambipolar diffusion is often regarded as a key mechanism for that, it has been recently argued that it may…
We review the properties of turbulent molecular clouds (MCs), focusing on the physical processes that influence star formation (SF). MC formation appears to occur during large-scale compression of the diffuse ISM driven by supernovae,…
I review the effects of magnetic fields on star formation in galaxies. This includes the effects of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) at galactic scales, magneto-Jeans and swing instabilities, Parker instabilities, and the effects of…
Interstellar magnetic fields influence all stages of the process of star formation, from the collapse of molecular cloud cores to the formation of protostellar jets. This requires us to have a full understanding of the physical properties…
Observations of magnetic field strengths imply that molecular cloud fragments are individually close to being in a magnetically critical state, even though both magnetic field and column density measurements range over two orders of…
Are magnetic fields important in primordial star formation? Assuming that star formation occurs via an accretion disk that is turbulent, initially because of local gravitational instability, we calculate the disk structure for realistic…
Magnetic fields play an important role in astrophysical accretion discs, and in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. They drive jets, suppress fragmentation in star-forming clouds and can have a significant impact on the accretion…
A key ingredient in the evolution of galaxies is the star formation cycle. Recent progress in the study of magnetic fields is revealing the close connection between star formation and its effect on the small-scale structure in the…
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…
Simulations from the scales of isolated galaxies to clouds have been instrumental in informing us about molecular cloud formation and evolution. Simulations are able to investigate the roles of gravity, feedback, turbulence, heating and…
We review recent advances in the analytical and numerical modeling of the star formation rate in molecular clouds and discuss the available observational constraints. We focus on molecular clouds as the fundamental star formation sites,…
The efficiency of star formation, defined as the ratio of the stellar to total (gas and stellar) mass, is observed to vary from a few percent in regions of dispersed star formation to about a third in cluster-forming cores. This difference…
Magnetic fields are generally expected to increase the characteristic mass of stars formed in stellar clusters, because they tend to increase the effective Jeans mass. We test this expectation using adaptive mesh refinement (AMR)…
Star formation involves the flow of gas and dust within molecular clouds into protostars and young stellar objects (YSOs) due to gravity. Along the way, these flows are shaped significantly by many other mechanisms, including pressure,…
Magnetic fields are an important component of the interstellar medium (ISM) and exhibit strongly varying field strengths and a non-trivial correlation with the gas density. Its dynamical impact varies between individual regions of the ISM…
(Abridged) The formation of molecular clouds (MCs) from the diffuse interstellar gas appears to be a necessary step for star formation, as young stars invariably occur within them. However, the mechanisms controlling the formation of MCs…
Striations are diffuse, linear, quasi-periodic, and magnetized structures located in the outskirts of molecular clouds. These structures seem to play an important role during the earliest stages of star formation. Theoretical models suggest…
We follow the ambipolar-diffusion--driven formation and evolution of a fragment in a magnetically supported molecular cloud, until a hydrostatic protostellar core forms at its center. This problem was formulated in Paper I. We determine the…
Star formation has been observed to occur at globally low yet locally varying efficiencies. As such, accurate capture of star formation in numerical simulations requires mechanisms that can replicate both its smaller-scale variations and…
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…