Related papers: The Structure of Cold Molecular Cloud Cores
We report the identification of a sample of potential High-Mass Starless Cores (HMSCs). The cores were discovered by comparing images of the fields containing candidate High-Mass Protostellar Objects (HMPOs) at 1.2mm and mid-infrared…
The initial and boundary conditions of the Galactic star formation in molecular clouds are not well understood. In an effort to shed new light on this long-standing problem, we measured properties of dense cores and filamentary structures…
We present high resolution interferometric and single dish observations of molecular gas in the Serpens cluster-forming core. Star formation does not appear to be homogeneous throughout the core, but is localised in spatially- and…
Pre-stellar cores represent the earliest stage of the star- and planet-formation process. By characterizing the physical and chemical structure of these cores we can establish the initial conditions for star and planet formation and…
Theoretically, stars have been formed from the collapse of cores in the molecular clouds. Historically, the core had been assumed as an singular isothermal sphere (SIS), and the collapse had been investigated by a self-similar manner. This…
Understanding the collapse of dense molecular cloud cores to stellar densities and the subsequent evolution of the protostar is of importance to model the feedback effects such an object has on its surrounding environment, as well as…
Icy grain mantles are commonly observed through infrared spectroscopy toward dense clouds, cloud cores, protostellar envelopes and protoplanetary disks. Up to 80% of the available oxygen, carbon and nitrogen are found in such ices; the most…
We use magnetic collapse models to place some constraints on the formation and angular momentum evolution of circumstellar disks which are embedded in magnetized cloud cores. Previous models have shown that the early evolution of a…
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…
The Pipe Nebula is a massive, nearby dark molecular cloud with a low star-formation efficiency which makes it a good laboratory to study the very early stages of the star formation process. The Pipe Nebula is largely filamentary, and…
We investigate the collapse and fragmentation of low-mass, trans-sonically turbulent prestellar cores, using SPH simulations. The initial conditions are slightly supercritical Bonnor-Ebert spheres, all with the same density profile, the…
The formation of stars is inextricably linked to the structure of their parental molecular clouds. Here we take a number of nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and analyse their column density and mass distributions. This investigation is…
It is now widely accepted that dense filaments of molecular gas are integral to the process of stellar birth. While numerical simulations have succeeded in reproducing filamentary structure in turbulent gas and analytic calculations have…
Molecular clouds (MC) are the densest and coldest component of the interstellar gas, and the sites of star formation. They are also turbulent and fractal and their masses and sizes span several orders of magnitude. It is also generally…
Similar to their low-mass counterparts, massive stars likely form via the collapse of pre-stellar molecular cores. Recent observations suggest that most massive cores are subvirial (i.e., not supported by turbulence) and therefore are…
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…
We describe results from a fully self-consistent three dimensional hydrodynamical simulation of the formation of one of the first stars in the Universe. Dark matter dominated pre-galactic objects form because of gravitational instability…
In a previous paper we identified cores within infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). We regarded those without embedded sources as the least evolved, and labelled them starless. Here we identify the most isolated starless cores and model them using…
We investigate the uncertainties affecting the temperature profiles of dense cores of interstellar clouds. In regions shielded from external ultraviolet radiation, the problem is reduced to the balance between cosmic ray heating, line…
I review theoretical models of star formation and how they apply across the stellar mass spectrum. Several distinct theories are under active study for massive star formation, especially Turbulent Core Accretion, Competitive Accretion and…