Related papers: A Turbulent Origin for Flocculent Spiral Structure…
The azimuthal power spectra of optical emission from star formation and dust in spiral galaxies resembles the azimuthal power spectra of HI emission from the LMC. These and other power spectra of whole galaxies all resemble that of velocity…
Fourier transform power spectra of azimuthal scans of the optical structure of M33 are evaluated for B, V, and R passbands and fit to fractal models of continuum emission with superposed star formation. Power spectra are also determined for…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass from the surrounding cloud material. This process is investigated, using numerical models of self-gravitating molecular cloud…
Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass from the surrounding cloud material. Molecular cloud regions without turbulent driving sources, or where turbulence is driven…
We analyse extinction maps of nearby Giant Molecular Clouds to forge a link between driving processes of turbulence and modes of star formation. Our investigation focuses on cloud structure in the column density range above the self…
Stars form by gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. The supersonic turbulence ubiquitously observed in Galactic molecular gas generates strong density fluctuations with gravity taking over in the densest and most massive…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
Star formation is enhanced in spiral arms because of a combination of orbit crowding, cloud collisions, and gravitational instabilities. The characteristic mass for the instability is 10^7 Msun in gas and 10^5 Msun in stars, and the…
Fourier transform power spectra of major axis cuts in V and Halpha images were made for a sample of 9 irregular galaxies. These power spectra reveal structure over a wide range of scales. For 6 of the galaxies the power spectrum slopes at…
The fractal structure of star formation on large scales in disk galaxies is studied using the size distribution function of stellar aggregates in kpc-scale star fields. Achival HST images of 10 galaxies are Gaussian smoothed to define the…
Star complexes are the largest globular regions of star formation in galaxies. If there is a spiral density wave, nuclear ring, tidal arm, or other well-defined stellar structure, then gravitational instabilities in the gaseous component…
Interstellar turbulence is driven over a wide range of scales by processes including spiral arm instabilities and supernovae, and it affects the rate and morphology of star formation, energy dissipation, and angular momentum transfer in…
We discuss star formation in the turbulent interstellar medium. We argue that morphological appearance and dynamical evolution of the gas is primarily determined by supersonic turbulence, and that stars form via a process we call…
The origin and types of spiral arms are reviewed with an emphasis on the connections between these arms and star formation. Flocculent spiral arms are most likely the result of transient instabilities in the gas that promote dense cloud…
Turbulent dynamics generate random fluctuations in density and velocity in the Interstellar Medium (ISM) of spiral and dwarf galaxies. Observationally, H~{\sc i} 21-cm radiation provides a good probe of these stochastic processes and helps…
It is well established that (1) star-forming galaxies follow a relation between their star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass (M$_{\star}$), the "star-formation sequence", and (2) the SFRs of galaxies correlate with their structure,…
Recent progress in the understanding of star formation is summarized. A consistent picture is emerging where molecular clouds form with turbulent velocity fields and clumpy substructure, imprinted already during their formation. The 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…
Stars form by gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. The supersonic turbulence ubiquitously observed in Galactic molecular gas generates strong density fluctuations with gravity taking over in the densest and most massive…