Related papers: Interstellar medium and star formation
In this chapter, we give an overview of the major components of the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies at a level appropriate for upper level undergraduates or beginning graduate students. We discuss the major constituents of the 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…
In this review, I survey our current understanding of how the very first stars in the universe formed, with a focus on three main areas of interest: the formation of the first protogalaxies and the cooling of gas within them, the nature and…
How stars are born from clouds of gas is a rich physics problem whose solution will inform our understanding of not just stars but also planets, galaxies, and the universe itself. Star formation is stupendously inefficient. Take the Milky…
My thesis work aims to study the inter-relation between various physical and chemical conditions in a wide range of astrophysical environments. Our studied regions range from the super-hot regions (i.e., nebular, photon-dominated, or…
We describe observations in the nearby universe (<100 Mpc) with a 10-m or larger space-based telescope having imaging and spectral capabilities in the range 912-9000 \AA that would enable advances in the fields of massive stars, young…
The understanding and modeling of the structure and evolution of stars is based on statistical physics as well as on hydrodynamics. Today, a precise identification and proper description of the physical processes at work in stellar…
Studies of evolved massive stars indicate that they form in a clustered mode. During the earliest evolutionary stages, these regions are embedded within their natal cores. Here, we show high-spatial-resolution interferometric dust continuum…
Synthetic observations are playing an increasingly important role across astrophysics, both for interpreting real observations and also for making meaningful predictions from models. In this review, we provide an overview of methods and…
A field with particularly exciting results over the past few years is the study of the interaction of cosmic rays with interstellar matter. For star formation to take place, gas and dust need to be sufficiently cold for gravity to overcome…
The inner few hundred parsecs of the Milky Way harbours gas densities, pressures, velocity dispersions, an interstellar radiation field and a cosmic ray ionisation rate orders of magnitude higher than the disc; akin to the environment found…
I present an overview of the hierarchy of structures existing in the interstellar medium (ISM) and the possible mechanisms that cause the fragmentation of one level into the next, with the formation of stars as its last step. Within this…
The formation of a star is a dynamic process fed by the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud core. Theoretical models and observations suggest that the majority of this infalling material settles into a protoplanetary disk before…
Although the basic physics of star formation is classical, numerical simulations have yielded essential insights into how stars form. They show that star formation is a highly nonuniform runaway process characterized by the emergence of…
Stellar nucleosynthesis is the corner-stone of many astrophysical problems. Its understanding, which can be tested by countless observations, leads to insights into the stellar structure and evolution, and provides crucial clues to the…
Supernovae are the most energetic stellar events and influence the interstellar medium by their gasdynamics and energetics. By this, both also affect the star formation positively and negatively. In this paper, we review the development of…
Magnetic fields are important at every scale in the star formation process: from the dynamics of the ISM in galaxies, to the collapse of turbulent molecular clouds to form stars and in the fragmentation of individual star forming cores. The…
In astrochemistry, computational methods play a crucial role in addressing fundamental astronomical questions. Interstellar molecules profoundly influence the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium (ISM), playing pivotal roles in…
We discuss the outstanding issues of the interstellar medium which will depend on the application of knowledge from plasma physics. We particularly advocate attention to recent developments in experimental plasma physics, and urge that the…
In spite of significant recent and ongoing research efforts, most of the early evolution and long-term fate of young massive star clusters remain clouded in uncertainties. Here, I discuss our understanding of the initial conditions of star…