Related papers: Star Formation from Galaxies to Globules
Understanding the formation of stars in galaxies is central to much of modern astrophysics. For several decades it has been thought that stellar birth is primarily controlled by the interplay between gravity and magnetostatic support,…
Understanding the physics of how stars form is a highly-prioritized goal of modern Astrophysics, in part because star formation is linked to both galactic dynamics on large scales and to the formation of planets on small scales. It is…
We argue that rich star clusters take at least several local dynamical times to form, and so are quasi-equilibrium structures during their assembly. Observations supporting this conclusion include morphologies of star-forming clumps,…
We review recent observations of molecular gas in nearby galaxies and their implications for the star formation law on large (>1 kpc) scales. High-resolution data provided by millimetre interferometers are now adding to the basic…
What is the nature of a star forming clump? Observations reveal these to be chaotic environments being modified and influenced by many physical processes. However, numerical simulations often define these initial star forming clumps to be…
Until recently, simulations that modeled entire galaxies were restricted to an isothermal or fixed 2- or 3-phase interstellar medium (ISM). This obscured the full role of the ISM in shaping the observed galactic-scale star formation…
We study the formation and early evolution of star clusters that have a wide range of masses and background cloud mass surface densities, $\Sigma_{\rm cloud}$, which help set the initial sizes, densities, and velocity dispersions of the…
We demonstrate that the high pressure of the hot intracluster medium (ICM) can trigger the collapse of molecular clouds in a spiral galaxy, leading to a burst of star formation in the clouds. Our hydrodynamical simulations show that the…
Stars form in dense, clustered environments, where feedback from newly formed stars eventually ejects the gas, terminating star formation and leaving behind one or more star clusters. Using the STARFORGE simulations, it is possible to…
We present a new implementation of star formation in cosmological simulations, by considering star clusters as a unit of star formation. Cluster particles grow in mass over several million years at the rate determined by local gas…
Star formation laws are empirical relations between the cold gas (HI+H$_2$) content of a galaxy and its star formation rate (SFR), being crucial for any model of galaxy formation and evolution. A well known example of such laws is the…
We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but…
There are at least 2 distinct mechanisms for the formation of young massive clusters (YMC), all of which require galactic-scale processes. One operates in harrassed fragile galaxies, in the dense cores of low mass galaxies, at the ends of…
Stars form predominantly in clusters inside dense clumps of turbulent, magnetized molecular clouds. The typical size and mass of the cluster-forming clumps are \sim 1 pc and \sim 10^2 - 10^3 M_\odot, respectively. Here, we discuss some…
Most, perhaps all, stars go through a phase of vigorous outflow during formation. We examine, through 3D MHD simulation, the effects of protostellar outflows on cluster formation. We find that the initial turbulence in the cluster-forming…
In a new simple model I reconcile two contradictory views on the factors that determine the rate at which molecular clouds form stars -- internal structure vs. external, environmental influences -- providing a unified picture for the…
We propose and investigate a new formation mechanism for globular clusters in which they form within molecular clouds that are formed in the shocked regions created by galactic winds driven by successive supernova explosions shortly after…
The interstellar medium of galaxies is composed of multiple phases, including molecular, atomic, and ionized gas, as well as dust. Stars are formed within this medium from cold molecular gas clouds, which collapse due to their gravitational…
The Schmidt-Kennicutt relation links the surface densities of gas to the star formation rate in galaxies. The physical origin of this relation, and in particular its break, i.e. the transition between an inefficient regime at low gas…
Star formation plays an important role in the fate of interacting galaxies. To date, most galactic simulations including star formation have used a density-dependent star formation rule designed to approximate a Schmidt law. Here, I present…