Related papers: Interstellar Dust-Catalyzed Molecular Hydrogen For…
This review covers four current questions in the behavior of the atomic and molecular interstellar medium. These include whether the atomic gas originates primarily in cold streams or hot flows onto galaxies; what the filling factor of cold…
Stars in galaxies form in giant molecular clouds that coalesce when the atomic hydrogen is converted into molecules. There are currently two dominant models for what property of the galactic disk determines its molecular fraction: either…
We investigate the abundance of galactic molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) in the "Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments" (EAGLE) cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assign H$_2$ masses to gas particles in the simulations…
(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…
{It is well established that the atomic interstellar hydrogen is filling the galaxies and constitutes the building blocks of molecular clouds.} {To understand the formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, it is necessary to…
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…
(Abridged). In this paper, we present results from a large set of numerical simulations that demonstrate that H2 formation occurs rapidly in turbulent gas. Starting with purely atomic hydrogen, large quantities of molecular hydrogen can be…
Molecular hydrogen (H2) is the main constituent of the gas in the planet-forming disks that surround many PMS stars. H2 can be incorporated in the atmosphere of the giant planets. HD has been detected in a few disks and can be considered…
We use a simple one-zone model of the thermal and chemical evolution of interstellar gas to study whether molecular hydrogen (H2) is ever an important coolant of the warm, diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). We demonstrate that at solar…
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…
We report on laboratory measurements of molecular hydrogen formation and recombination on an olivine slab as a function of surface temperature under conditions relevant to those encountered in the interstellar medium. On the basis of our…
We examine the formation of molecular gas behind shocks in atomic gas using a chemical/dynamical model, particular emphasis is given to constraints the chemistry places on the dynamical evolution. The most important result of this study is…
Water is usually the main component of ice mantles, which cover the cores of dust grains in cold portions of dense interstellar clouds. When molecular hydrogen is adsorbed onto an icy mantle through physisorption, a common assumption in…
We extend the analytic theory presented by Sternberg et al. (2014) and Bialy & Sternberg (2016) for the production of atomic hydrogen (HI) via FUV photodissociation at the boundaries of dense interstellar molecular (H$_2$) clouds, to also…
Interstellar space is filled with a dilute mixture of charged particles, atoms, molecules and dust grains, called the interstellar medium (ISM). Understanding its physical properties and dynamical behavior is of pivotal importance to many…
Recent experimental results about the formation of molecular hydrogen on astrophysically relevant surfaces under conditions close to those encountered in the interstellar medium are analyzed using rate equations. The parameters of the rate…
Observations of nearby galaxies have firmly established, over a broad range of galactic environments and metallicities, that star formation occurs exclusively in the molecular phase of the interstellar medium (ISM). Theoretical models show…
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, we have made the first high spatial and spectral resolution observations of the molecular gas and dust in the prototypical blue compact dwarf galaxy II Zw 40. The CO(2-1) and CO(3-2)…
We present results from high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of turbulent interstellar gas that self-consistently follow its coupled thermal, chemical and dynamical evolution, with a particular focus on the formation and…
Even though water is the main constituent in interstellar icy mantles, its chemical origin is not well understood. Three different formation routes have been proposed following hydrogenation of O, O2, or O3, but experimental evidence is…