Related papers: Gravity, Turbulence, and Star Formation
We explain the large variety of star formation laws in terms of one single, simple law that can be inferred from the definition of the star formation rate and basic algebra. The resulting equation, $\SFR = \eff\ \Mcollapsing/\tauff$,…
Star formation is inefficient. Recent advances in numerical simulations and theoretical models of molecular clouds show that the combined effects of interstellar turbulence, magnetic fields and stellar feedback can explain the low…
Turbulent gas motions are observed in the intracluster medium (ICM). The ICM is density-stratified, with the gas density being highest at the centre of the cluster and decreasing radially outwards. As a result of this, Kolmogorov…
It is most natural to assume that mysterious Small Ionized and Neutral Structures (SINS) indiffuse ISM arise from turbulence. There are two obvious problem with such an explanation, however. First of all, it is generally believed that at…
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…
High redshift disc galaxies are more gas rich, clumpier, and more turbulent than local Universe galaxies. This early era of galaxy formation imprints the distribution and kinematics of the stars that we observe today, but it is not yet well…
We propose to interpret the stellar IMF as a property of the turbulence in the star--forming gas. Gravitationally unstable density enhancements in the turbulent flow collapse and form stars. Their mass distribution can be derived…
In the interstellar medium the turbulence is believed to be forced mostly through supernova explosions. In a first approximation these flows can be written as a gradient of a potential being thus devoid of vorticity. There are several…
The interstellar medium (ISM) is permeated by magnetic fields that affect gas dynamics and star formation. These fields correlate with supernova (SN)-driven turbulence, but whether the scaling is universal across galaxy properties, ISM…
Two competing models, gravitational instability-driven transport and stellar feedback, have been proposed to interpret the high velocity dispersions observed in high-redshift galaxies. We study the major mechanisms to drive the turbulence…
The velocity dispersion of cold interstellar gas, sigma, is one of the quantities that most radically affect the onset of gravitational instabilities in galaxy discs, and the quantity that is most drastically approximated in stability…
The rotation curves of disk galaxies exhibit a number of striking regularities. The amplitude of the rotation is correlated with luminosity (Tully-Fisher), the shape of the rotation curve is well predicted by the luminous mass distribution,…
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…
Here we model a star forming factory in which the continuous creation of stars results in a highly concentrated, massive (globular cluster-like) stellar system. We show that under very general conditions a large-scale gravitational…
We review recent results from numerical simulations and related models of MHD turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds. We discuss the implications of turbulence for the processes of cloud formation and evolution,…
Star formation is triggered in essentially three ways: (1) the pressures from existing stars collect and squeeze nearby dense gas into gravitationally unstable configurations, (2) random compression from supersonic turbulence makes new…
The role of gravitational instability-driven turbulence in determining the structure and evolution of disk galaxies, and the extent to which gravity rather than feedback can explain galaxy properties, remains an open question. To address…
Recent 21 cm radio observations of H$_I$ regions in the Small Magellanic Cloud, have revealed spatial power spectra of the intensity, which are quite similar in shape to those previously deduced for the Galaxy. The similarity, in spite the…
The Hubble classification scheme of galaxies is based on blue-light appearance. Atlases reveal the rich variety of responses of the Population I component (`the mask') of gas and dust to the underlying, older, stellar population. However,…
Star forming galaxies exhibit a variety of physical conditions, from quiescent normal spirals to the most powerful dusty starbursts. In order to study these complex systems, we need a suitable tool to analyze the information coming from…