Related papers: Random gas motions inside sub-parsec scale supercr…
We examine the physical parameters that affect the accumulation of gas in molecular clouds to high column densities where the formation of stars takes place. In particular, we analyze the dense gas mass fraction (DGMF) in a set of…
Galactic disks consist of both stars and gas. The gas is more dynamically responsive than the stars, and strongly nonlinear structures and velocities can develop in the ISM even while stellar surface density perturbations remain…
Submillimeter bright galaxies in the early Universe are vigorously forming stars at ~1000 times higher rate than the Milky Way. A large fraction of stars is formed in the central 1 kiloparsec region, that is comparable in size to massive,…
We present a set of numerical experiments designed to systematically investigate how turbulence and magnetic fields influence the morphology, energetics, and dynamics of filaments produced in wind-cloud interactions. We cover 3D…
We aim to better understand how the spatial structure of molecular clouds is governed by turbulence. For that, we study the large-scale spatial distribution of low density molecular gas and search for characteristic length scales. We employ…
At high redshift, the cosmic web is widely expected to have a significant impact on the morphologies, dynamics and star formation rates of the galaxies embedded within it, underscoring the need for a comprehensive study of the properties of…
Observations of the interstellar medium are key to deciphering the physical processes regulating star formation in galaxies. However, observational uncertainties and detection limits can bias the interpretation unless carefully modeled.…
Stars form within molecular clouds but our understanding of this fundamental process remains hampered by the complexity of the physics that drives their evolution. We review our observational and theoretical knowledge of molecular clouds…
The empirical laws of star formation suggest that galactic-scale gravity is involved, but they do not identify the actual triggering mechanisms for clusters in the final stages. Many other triggering processes satisfy the empirical laws…
Recent studies of the nearest star-forming clouds of the Galaxy at submillimeter wavelengths with the Herschel Space Observatory have provided us with unprecedented images of the initial conditions and early phases of the star formation…
To explore the potential role of gravity, turbulence and magnetic fields in high-mass star formation in molecular clouds, this study revisits the velocity dispersion--size ($\sigma$--$L$) and density--size ($\rho$--$L$) scalings and the…
We have used the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer and the Expanded Very Large Array to obtain a high resolution map of the CO(6-5) and CO(1-0) emission in the lensed, star-forming galaxy SMMJ2135-0102 at z=2.32. The kinematics of the gas…
Supersonic turbulence is an essential element in understanding how structure within interstellar gas is created and shaped. In the context of star formation, many computational studies show that the mass spectrum of density and velocity…
The dynamic properties of molecular clouds are set by the interplay of their self-gravity, turbulence, external pressure and magnetic fields. Extended surveys of Galactic molecular clouds typically find that their kinetic energy ($E_{\rm…
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…
Filamentary structures are ubiquitous from large-scale molecular clouds (few parsecs) to small-scale circumstellar envelopes around Class 0 sources (~1000 AU to ~0.1 pc). In particular, recent observations with the Herschel Space…
As a part of the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) survey, we performed a simultaneous 12CO(1-0), 13CO(1-0), C18O(1-0) mapping toward molecular clouds in a region encompassing 3.75 square degrees. We reveal three molecular clouds,…
The equilibrium state of a turbulent clumpy gas disk is analytically investigated. The disk consists of distinct self-gravitating clouds. Gravitational cloud-cloud interactions transfer energy over spatial scales and produce a viscosity,…
Filamentary structures are closely associated with star-forming cores, but their detailed physical connections are still not clear. We studied the dense gas in the region of OMC-3 MMS-7 in Orion A molecular cloud using the molecular lines…
Studies of the molecular interstellar medium that fuels star formation and supermassive black hole growth in galaxies at cosmological distances have undergone tremendous progress over the past few years. Based on the detection of molecular…