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Motivated by present indirect evidences that galaxies are surrounded by dark matter halos, we investigate whether their physical properties can be described by a formulation of the virial theorem which explicitly takes into account the…
We derive an analytic prediction for the star formation rate in environments ranging from normal galactic disks to starbursts and ULIRGs in terms of the observables of those systems. Our calculation is based on three premises: (1) star…
We solve the problem of spatial distribution of inertial particles that sediment in turbulent flow with small ratio of acceleration of fluid particles to acceleration of gravity $g$. The particles are driven by linear drag and have…
Passive scalar mixing (metals, molecules, etc.) in the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM) is critical for abundance patterns of stars and clusters, galaxy and star formation, and cooling from the circumgalactic medium. However, the…
A specific modification of Newtonian dynamics known as MOND has been shown to reproduce the dynamics of most astrophysical systems at different scales without invoking non-baryonic dark matter (DM). There is, however, a long-standing…
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 dynamic properties of molecular clouds are set by the interplay of their self-gravity, turbulence, external pressure and magnetic fields. Extended surveys of Galactic molecular clouds typically find that their kinetic energy ($E_{\rm…
Gravity plays a determining role in the evolution of the molecular ISM. In \citet{2016arXiv160304342L}, we proposed a measure called gravitational energy spectrum to quantify the importance of gravity on multiple physical scales. In this…
The formation of stars is governed by the intricate interplay of nonideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects, gravity, and turbulence. Computational challenges have hindered a comprehensive 3D exploration of this interplay, posing a…
A cloud of gas collapsing under gravity will fragment. We present a new theory for this process, in which layers shocked gas fragment due to their gravitational instability. Our model explains why angular momentum does not inhibit the…
We simulate the collapse of a turbulent gas cloud with the particle-based code Gadget2. We choose two sub-clouds, formed by those particles located around the centers $\vec{r}_L$ and $\vec{r}_R$ and within the radii $r_L$ and $r_R$,…
{It is well established that the atomic interstellar hydrogen is filling the galaxies and constitutes the building blocks of molecular clouds.} {To understand the formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, it is necessary to…
Molecular clouds (MC) are structures of dense gas in the interstellar medium (ISM), that extend from ten to a few hundred parsecs and form the main gas reservoir available for star formation. Hydrodynamical simulations of varying complexity…
Turbulence is ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies. The energy source for this turbulence has been much debated with many possible origins proposed. The universality of turbulence, its…
Recent works have proposed the idea of a tidal screening scenario, in which tidal forces determine the mass that a protostar can accrete to explain the IMF. In this scenario, gravitationally unstable fragments will compete for the gas…
The buoyancy force is the cause of ordered vertical movements in the atmosphere, therefore, the analysis of the causes and conditions of its formation is important not only for the formation of convective clouds, but also for understanding…
Stars form within molecular clouds but our understanding of this fundamental process remains hampered by the complexity of the physics that drives their evolution. We review our observational and theoretical knowledge of molecular clouds…
Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass from the surrounding cloud material. Molecular cloud regions without turbulent driving sources, or where turbulence is driven…
Observational evidence from local star-forming regions mandates that star formation occurs shortly after, or even during, molecular cloud formation. Models of the formation of molecular clouds in large-scale converging flows have identified…
Low mass, self-gravitating accretion disks admit quasi-steady,`gravito-turbulent' states in which cooling balances turbulent viscous heating. However, numerical simulations show that gravito-turbulence cannot be sustained beyond dynamical…