Related papers: Galaxy to cloud scales
We present ongoing hydrodynamic and MHD simulations of molecular cloud formation in spiral galaxies. The hydrodynamic results show the formation of molecular gas clouds where spiral shocks compress atomic gas to high densities. The spiral…
We study the chaotic-like behavior of cosmological simulations by quantifying how minute perturbations grow over time and manifest as macroscopic differences in galaxy properties. When we run pairs of 'shadow' simulations that are identical…
An overview over the current status of modeling galaxies by means of numerical simulations is given. After a short description of how galaxies form in hierarchically clustering scenarios, success and failures of current simulations are…
Molecular clouds are the principle stellar nurseries of our universe, keeping them in the focus of both observational and theoretical studies. From observations, some of the key properties of molecular clouds are well known but many…
All stars are born in molecular clouds, and most in giant molecular clouds (GMCs), which thus set the star formation activity of galaxies. We first review their observed properties, including measures of mass surface density, Sigma, and…
By resimulating a region of a global disc simulation at higher resolution, we resolve and study the properties of molecular clouds with a range of masses from a few 100's M$_{\odot}$ to $10^6$ M$_{\odot}$. The purpose of our paper is…
Stellar feedback influences the star formation rate (SFR) and the interstellar medium of galaxies in ways that are difficult to quantify numerically, because feedback is an essential ingredient of realistic simulations. To overcome this, we…
We investigate the properties and evolution of star particles in two simulations of isolated spiral galaxies, and two galaxies from cosmological simulations. Unlike previous numerical work, where typically each star particle represents one…
We investigate the evolution of galaxy masses and star formation rates in the Evolution and Assembly of Galaxies and their Environment (EAGLE) simulations. These comprise a suite of hydrodynamical simulations in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmogony…
Galaxy formation simulations are an essential part of the modern toolkit of astrophysicists and cosmologists alike. Astrophysicists use the simulations to study the emergence of galaxy populations from the Big Bang, as well as problems…
Energetic feedback from star clusters plays a pivotal role in shaping the dynamical evolution of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). To study the effects of stellar feedback on the star formation efficiency of the clouds and the dynamical…
Mechanical feedback from massive stars, primarily from supernovae, can dominate ISM structuring and phase balance, thereby profoundly affecting galactic evolutionary processes. Our understanding of mechanical feedback is based on the…
Numerical simulations have become a necessary tool to describe the complex interactions among the different processes involved in galaxy formation and evolution, unfeasible via an analytic approach. The last decade has seen a great effort…
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…
We have developed a new scheme to treat a multiphase interstellar medium in smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of galaxy formation. This scheme can represent a co-spatial mixture of cold and hot ISM components, and is formulated…
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…
Using hydrodynamical simulations of a Milky Way-like galaxy, reaching 4.6 pc resolution, we study how the choice of star formation criteria impacts both galactic and Giant Molecular Clouds (GMC) scales. We find that using a turbulent,…
Using high-resolution simulations with explicit treatment of stellar feedback physics based on the FIRE (Feedback in Realistic Environments) project, we study how galaxy formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) are affected by magnetic…
Cosmological simulations of structure formation predict that galaxies are dramatically modified by galaxy harassment during the assembly of galaxy clusters, losing a substantial fraction of their stellar mass which today must be in the form…
We examine simulations of isolated galaxies to analyse the effects of localised feedback on the formation and evolution of molecular clouds. Feedback contributes to turbulence and the destruction of clouds, leading to a population of clouds…