Related papers: Efficiency of the dynamical mechanism
Star formation is one of the least understood processes in cosmic evolution. It is difficult to formulate a general theory for star formation in part because of the wide range of physical processes involved. The interstellar gas out of…
Most stars form in compact, dense embedded clusters with memberships ranging from a dozen stars to many millions of stars. Embedded clusters containing more than a few hundred stars also contain O stars that disrupt the nebula abruptly.…
Star formation in galaxies relies on the availability of cold, dense gas, which, in turn, relies on factors internal and external to the galaxies. In order to provide a simple model for how star formation is regulated by various physical…
The last tidal encounter between M82 and M81, some 500 Myr ago, had a major impact on what was probably an otherwise normal, quiescent disc galaxy. It caused a concentrated burst of star formation in the form of massive star clusters, which…
Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) has often been invoked both in simulations and in interpreting observations for regulating star formation and quenching cooling flows in massive galaxies. AGN activity can, however, also…
Observations have suggested that galactic outflows contain substantial amounts of dense and clumpy molecular gas, creating favourable conditions for igniting star formation. Indeed, theoretical models and hydrodynamical simulations have…
We investigate the assumption that the trigger of star formation in dwarf galaxies are interactions with other galaxies, in the context of a search for a "primary" trigger of a first generation of stars. This is cosmologically relevant…
In this review, I discuss some highlights of recent research on molecular gas in galaxies; large-scale CO maps of nearby galaxies are being made, which extend our knowledge on global properties, radial gradients, and spiral structure of the…
In order to explain disk galaxy formation within the hierarchical structure formation, it seems that gas rich mergers must play an important role. We review here our previous studies which have shown the importance of mergers at high…
We have carried out a large set of N-body simulations studying the effect of residual-gas expulsion on the survival rate and final properties of star clusters. We have varied the star formation efficiency, gas expulsion timescale and…
In the present-day universe, it appears that most, and perhaps all, massive stars are born in star clusters. It also appears that all star clusters contain stars drawn from an approximately universal initial mass function, so that almost…
Galaxy interactions are known to trigger starbursts. Young massive star clusters formed in interacting galaxies and mergers may become young globular clusters. The ages of these clusters can provide clues about the timing of…
We employ numerical simulations of galaxy mergers to explore the effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger--driven starbursts. Our numerical simulations include radiative cooling of gas, star formation, and stellar feedback to follow the…
Star-forming regions presenting a density gradient experience a higher star formation rate than if they were of uniform density. We refer to the ratio between the star formation rate of a spherical centrally-concentrated gas clump and the…
Knowledge of the molecular component of the ISM is fundamental to understand star formation. The H2 component appears to dominate the gas mass in the inner parts of galaxies, while the HI component dominates in the outer parts. Observation…
Star clusters that form in nuclear rings appear to be at slightly larger radii than the gas. We argue that the star clusters move out from the gas in which they are formed because of satellite-disk tidal interactions. In calculating the…
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…
How does the gas get in nuclear regions to fuel black holes? How efficient is the feedback? The different processes to cause rapid gas inflow (or outflow) in galaxy centers are reviewed. Non axisymmetries can be created or maintained by…
The clustered nature of star formation should produce a high degree of structure in the combined phase and chemical space in the Galactic disk. To date, observed structure of this kind has been mostly limited to bound clusters and moving…
Star formation is a fundamental process for galactic evolution. One issue over the last several decades has been determining whether star formation is induced by external triggers or is self-regulated in a closed system. The role of an…