Related papers: Starless Cores
We review the progress made in understanding molecular cloud formation and evolution toward star formation since the first Crete conference in 1990. It now seems clear that molecular clouds in the Galaxy at least form from compressed HI…
Dynamical collapse and fragmentation of low-metallicity cloud cores is studied using three-dimensional hydrodynamical calculations, with particular attention devoted whether the cores fragment in the dust-cooling phase or not. The cores…
Observations of both star-forming regions and young, gas-free stellar associations indicate that most nearby molecular clouds form stars only over a short time span before dispersal; large-scale flows in the diffuse interstellar medium have…
Two scenarios have been proposed for evolution of star forming cores: gravitational fragmentation of larger structures and coalescence of smaller entities which are formed from some instabilities. Here, we turn our attention to the latter…
The study of the development of structures on multiple scales in the cold interstellar medium has experienced rapid expansion in the past decade, on both the observational and the theoretical front. Spectral line studies at (sub-)millimeter…
Large-scale surveys of the Perseus molecular cloud have provided many clues as to the processes occurring during star formation. Here, analysis of both column density maps and kinematic data (maps and pointed data) are discussed and…
Dense core collisions, previously regarded as minor in star formation, are proposed to play a significant role in structure formation around protostellar envelopes and binary formation. Using archival data of nearby star-forming regions, we…
The early stages of star formation are closely related to the ambient conditions in the interstellar medium. Important questions such as dust abundance, size distribution, temperature distribution, fraction of molecular gas, fraction of…
Molecular clouds are observed to be turbulent, but the origin of this turbulence is not well understood. As a result, there are two different approaches to simulating molecular clouds, one in which the turbulence is allowed to decay after…
We study star formation in the Center Ridge 1 (CR1) clump in the Vela C giant molecular cloud, selected as a high column density region that shows the lowest level of dust continuum polarization angle dispersion, likely indicating that the…
We present SMA and CARMA continuum and spectral line observations of five dense cores located in the Perseus and Ophiuchus molecular clouds whose masses exceed their thermal Jeans masses. Three of these cores have previously been identified…
Context: The study of dust emission at millimeter wavelengths is important to shed light on the dust properties and physical structure of pre-stellar cores, the initial conditions in the process of star and planet formation. Aims: Using two…
The remarkably filamentary spatial distribution of young stars in the Taurus molecular cloud has significant implications for understanding low-mass star formation in relatively quiescent conditions. The large scale and regular spacing of…
Cold ($\sim$10 K) and dense ($\sim$10$^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$) cores of gas and dust within molecular clouds, known as starless and dynamically evolved prestellar cores, are the birthplaces of low-mass ($M$ $\leq$ few M$_\odot$) stars. As…
The internal velocity structure within dense gaseous cores plays a crucial role in providing the initial conditions for star formation in molecular clouds. However, the kinematic properties of dense gas at core scales (~0.01 - 0.1 pc) has…
Our knowledge of the initial conditions and early stages of high mass star formation is very limited. We will review recent surveys of regions in the early stages of massive star formation using molecular tracers of high density and dust…
The past century of interstellar dust has brought us from first ignoring it to finding that it is an important component of the interstellar medium and plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies, the formation of stars and…
We investigate the formation of protostellar clusters during the collapse of dense molecular cloud cores with a focus on the evolution of potential and kinetic energy, the degree of substructure, and the early phase of mass segregation. Our…
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…
Dust grains are the building {blocks} of future planets. They evolve in size, shape and composition during the life cycle of the interstellar medium. We seek to understand the process which leads from diffuse medium grains to dust grains in…