Related papers: Testing Massive Star Formation Theory in Orion
I review the arguments motivating models for massive star formation via stellar collisions. I then describe how the standard accretion scenario, involving the collapse of a quasi-hydrostatic gas core, can produce high-mass stars in the…
The hypothesis that massive stars form by accretion can be investigated by simple analytical calculations that describe the effect that the formation of a massive star has on its own accretion flow. Within a simple accretion model that…
The formation of massive stars may take place at relatively low accretion rates over a long period of time if the accretion can continue past the onset of core hydrogen ignition. The accretion may continue despite the formation of an…
Massive stars influence the surrounding universe far out of proportion to their numbers through ionizing radiation, supernova explosions, and heavy element production. Their formation requires the collapse of massive interstellar gas clouds…
Although fundamental for astrophysics, the processes that produce massive stars are not well understood. Large distances, high extinction, and short timescales of critical evolutionary phases make observations of these processes…
Observations indicate that massive stars form in regions of very high surface density, ~1 g cm^-2. Clusters containing massive stars and globular clusters have a comparable column density. The total pressure in clouds of such a column…
The current generation of millimeter interferometers have revealed a population of compact (r <~ 0.1 pc), massive (M ~ 100 Msun) gas cores that are the likely progenitors of massive stars. I review models for the evolution of these objects…
Our current understanding of the physical processes of star formation is reviewed, with emphasis on processes occurring in molecular clouds like those observed nearby. The dense cores of these clouds are predicted to undergo gravitational…
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…
The enormous radiative and mechanical luminosities of massive stars impact a vast range of scales and processes, from the reionization of the universe, to the evolution of galaxies, to the regulation of the interstellar medium, to the…
We present a model for the formation of massive ($M > 10 M_\odot$) stars through accretion-induced collisions in the cores of embedded dense stellar clusters. This model circumvents the problem of accreting onto a star whose luminosity is…
If massive stars form by disk accretion, then bipolar outflows should be generated as in the case of low-mass star formation. High accretion rates lead to high outflow rates and make the wind density very large near the protostar. We…
In this review, I present the case for how massive stars may form through stellar collisions. This mechanism requires very high stellar densities, up to 4 orders of magnitude higher than are observed in the cores of dense young clusters. In…
To distinguish between the different theories proposed to explain massive star formation, it is crucial to establish the distribution, the extinction, and the density of low-mass stars in massive star-forming regions. We analyzed deep X-ray…
In this contribution we review our recent numerical work discussing the essential role of the local cluster environment in assembling massive stars. First we show that massive stars are formed from low mass pre-stellar cores and become…
The formation of massive stars is a long standing problem. Although a number of theories of massive star formation exist, ideas appear to converge to a disk-mediated accretion scenario. Here we present radiative hydrodynamic simulations of…
We present an investigation of massive star formation that results from the gravitational collapse of massive, magnetized molecular cloud cores. We investigate this by means of highly resolved, numerical simulations of initial magnetized…
I review some important questions in the field of massive star formation: What are the initial conditions for proto star clusters and how do they arise? What are the initial conditions for individual massive star formation within star…
To distinguish between the different theories proposed to explain massive star formation, it is crucial to establish the distribution, the extinction, and the density of low-mass stars in massive star-forming regions. We analyze deep X-ray…
Even today in our Galaxy, stars form from gas cores in a variety of environments, which may affect the properties of resulting star and planetary systems. Here we study the role of pressure, parameterized via ambient clump mass surface…