Shocks in Molecular Clouds

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-271
Author(s):  
Peter W. J. L. Brand
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modelling ◽  
Statistical Models ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Nonlinear Growth ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Shock Dynamics

AbstractA one-day workshop discussed the properties of shocks in star-forming regions. It also reviewed other physical processes in star-forming molecular gas, and the progress in numerical modelling of such physics. Discussion concentrated on the complexity which instabilities in the gas flow bring to the analysis of shocks. The consensus was that progress will be made as the spatial/spectral resolution of shock measurements improves, and as numerical modelling of the nonlinear growth of instabilities becomes possible, potentially leading to statistical models of shock dynamics.

scholarly journals Star Formation in the Local Milky Way

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (S314) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Charles J. Lada
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions

AbstractStudies of molecular clouds and young stars near the sun have provided invaluable insights into the process of star formation. Indeed, much of our physical understanding of this topic has been derived from such studies. Perhaps the two most fundamental problems confronting star formation research today are: 1) determining the origin of stellar mass and 2) deciphering the nature of the physical processes that control the star formation rate in molecular gas. As I will briefly outline here, observations and studies of local star forming regions are making particularly significant contributions toward the solution of both these important problems.

scholarly journals The atomic hydrogen/molecular cloud association: an unavoidable relationship

1991 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
G. Joncas
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Hydrogen ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Dark Clouds ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
The Impact

The presence of HI in the interstellar medium is ubiquitous. HI is the principal actor in the majority of the physical processes at work in our Galaxy. Restricting ourselves to the topics of this symposium, atomic hydrogen is involved with the formation of molecular clouds and is one of the byproducts of their destruction by young stars. HI has different roles during a molecular cloud's life. I will discuss here a case of coexisting HI and H2 at large scale and the origin of HI in star forming regions. For completeness' sake, it should be mentionned that there are at least three other aspects of HI involvement: HI envelopes around molecular clouds, the impact of SNRs (see work on IC 443), and the role of HI in quiescent dark clouds (see van der Werf's work).

scholarly journals The atomic hydrogen/molecular cloud association: an unavoidable relationship

1991 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
G. Joncas
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Hydrogen ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Dark Clouds ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
The Impact

The presence of HI in the interstellar medium is ubiquitous. HI is the principal actor in the majority of the physical processes at work in our Galaxy. Restricting ourselves to the topics of this symposium, atomic hydrogen is involved with the formation of molecular clouds and is one of the byproducts of their destruction by young stars. HI has different roles during a molecular cloud's life. I will discuss here a case of coexisting HI and H2 at large scale and the origin of HI in star forming regions. For completeness' sake, it should be mentionned that there are at least three other aspects of HI involvement: HI envelopes around molecular clouds, the impact of SNRs (see work on IC 443), and the role of HI in quiescent dark clouds (see van der Werf's work).

scholarly journals Properties of star forming regions in the Magellanic Clouds

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S256) ◽  
pp. 215-226
Author(s):  
Mónica Rubio
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Low Metallicity

AbstractUnderstanding the process of star formation in low metallicity systems is one of the key studies in the early stages of galaxy evolution. The Magellanic Clouds, being the nearest examples of low metallicity systems, allow us to study in detail their star forming regions. As a consequence of their proximity we can resolve the molecular clouds and the regions of star formation individually. Therefore we can increase our knowledge of the interaction of young luminous stars with their environment. We will present results of multiwavelenghts studies of LMC and SMC massive star forming regions, which includes properties of the cold molecular gas, the embedded young population associated with molecular clouds, and the interaction of newly born stars with the surrounding interstellar medium, based on ASTE and APEX submillimeter observations complemented high sensitivity NIR groud based observations and Spitzer results.

scholarly journals Inefficient jet-induced star formation in Centaurus A

2017 ◽  
Vol 608 ◽  
pp. A98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Salomé ◽  
P. Salomé ◽  
M.-A. Miville-Deschênes ◽  
F. Combes ◽  
S. Hamer
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Data Cube ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Co Emission ◽  
Centaurus A

NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) is one of the best targets to study AGN feedback in the local Universe. At 13.5 kpc from the galaxy, optical filaments with recent star formation lie along the radio jet direction. This region is a testbed for positive feedback, here through jet-induced star formation. Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) observations have revealed strong CO emission in star-forming regions and in regions with no detected tracers of star formation activity. In cases where star formation is observed, this activity appears to be inefficient compared to the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. We used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to map the 12CO(1–0) emission all along the filaments of NGC 5128 at a resolution of 1.3′′ ~ 23.8pc. We find that the CO emission is clumpy and is distributed in two main structures: (i) the Horseshoe complex, located outside the HI cloud, where gas is mostly excited by shocks and where no star formation is observed, and (ii) the Vertical filament, located at the edge of the HI shell, which is a region of moderate star formation. We identified 140 molecular clouds using a clustering method applied to the CO data cube. A statistical study reveals that these clouds have very similar physical properties, such as size, velocity dispersion, and mass, as in the inner Milky Way. However, the range of radius available with the present ALMA observations does not enable us to investigate whether or not the clouds follow the Larson relation. The large virial parameter αvir of the clouds suggests that gravity is not dominant and clouds are not gravitationally unstable. Finally, the total energy injection in the northern filaments of Centaurus A is of the same order as in the inner part of the Milky Way. The strong CO emission detected in the northern filaments is an indication that the energy injected by the jet acts positively in the formation of dense molecular gas. The relatively high virial parameter of the molecular clouds suggests that the injected kinetic energy is too strong for star formation to be efficient. This is particularly the case in the horseshoe complex, where the virial parameter is the largest and where strong CO is detected with no associated star formation. This is the first evidence of AGN positive feedback in the sense of forming molecular gas through shocks, associated with low star formation efficiency due to turbulence injection by the interaction with the radio jet.

Numerical Modelling of Star Formation in GMCs

1992 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-124
Author(s):  
John C. Lattanzio ◽  
J.J. Monaghan
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Numerical Modelling ◽  
Formation Process ◽  
Fragmentation Process ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Preliminary Calculation ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Spherical Models

AbstractAlthough stars can be approximated very satisfactorily by spherical models, it is clear from observations of star forming regions that the break-up of molecular gas to form proto-stars is a highly complex process that cannot be approximated simply. As a consequence, the theoretical picture of fragmentation, which is based on assuming that fragmentation occurs in uniform, static, isothermal clouds, is too crude to provide a guide to the star formation process. The alternative is to simulate the fragmentation process numerically with the ultimate aim of evolving the gas to proto-stars. The difficulties involved with this procedure are discussed in this paper. We also discuss our proposed solution to this problem, together with a very preliminary calculation.

scholarly journals Massive star formation in the Carina nebula complex and Gum 31. I. the Carina nebula complex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Fujita ◽  
Hidetoshi Sano ◽  
Rei Enokiya ◽  
Katsuhiro Hayashi ◽  
Mikito Kohno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Emission Lines ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Carina Nebula ◽  
Intensity Ratios ◽  
Archive Data

Abstract Herein, we present results from observations of the 12CO (J = 1–0), 13CO (J = 1–0), and 12CO (J = 2–1) emission lines toward the Carina nebula complex (CNC) obtained with the Mopra and NANTEN2 telescopes. We focused on massive-star-forming regions associated with the CNC including the three star clusters Tr 14, Tr 15, and Tr 16, and the isolated WR-star HD 92740. We found that the molecular clouds in the CNC are separated into mainly four clouds at velocities −27, −20, −14, and −8 km s−1. Their masses are 0.7 × 104 M⊙, 5.0 × 104 M⊙, 1.6 × 104 M⊙, and 0.7 × 104 M⊙, respectively. Most are likely associated with the star clusters, because of their high 12CO (J = 2–1)/12CO (J = 1–0) intensity ratios and their correspondence to the Spitzer 8 μm distributions. In addition, these clouds show the observational signatures of cloud–cloud collisions. In particular, there is a V-shaped structure in the position–velocity diagram and a complementary spatial distribution between the −20 km s−1 cloud and the −14 km s−1 cloud. Furthermore, we found that SiO emission, which is a tracer of a shocked molecular gas, is enhanced between the colliding clouds by using ALMA archive data. Based on these observational signatures, we propose a scenario wherein the formation of massive stars in the clusters was triggered by a collision between the two clouds. By using the path length of the collision and the assumed velocity separation, we estimate the timescale of the collision to be ∼1 Myr. This is comparable to the ages of the clusters estimated in previous studies.

scholarly journals Spectra of Fast J-Shocks in Dense, Star-Forming Regions

1987 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 202-202
Author(s):  
C.F. McKee ◽  
D. J. Hollenbach ◽  
T. Jernigan
Keyword(s):  
Shock Front ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Emission Lines ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Stellar Winds ◽  
Bipolar Outflows ◽  
Molecular Emission ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Weakly Ionized

Stellar winds, bipolar outflows, and supernovae generate strong shocks in molecular clouds. If the molecular gas is magnetized and weakly ionized, shocks slower than about 40-50 kms−1 (C-shocks) emit primarily in the infrared. Faster shocks, or shocks in a weakly magnetized or more highly ionized medium (J–shocks), emit primarily in the ultraviolet and are thus harder to detect in dusty regions. J–shocks in molecular gas are usually dissociative, so that molecular emission lines from such shocks are produced by molecules formed behind the shock front. Observations of fast shocks in molecular clouds can provide valuable insights into energetic events occurring within them.

AMBIPOLAR DIFFUSION AND TURBULENT MAGNETIC FIELDS IN MOLECULAR CLOUDS

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (04) ◽  
pp. 235-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN HOUDE ◽  
TALAYEH HEZAREH ◽  
HUA-BAI LI ◽  
THOMAS G. PHILLIPS
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Ambipolar Diffusion ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Spin Interactions ◽  
Line Narrowing ◽  
Weakly Ionized ◽  
Novel Method

We review the introduction and development of a novel method for the characterization of magnetic fields in star-forming regions. The technique is based on the comparison of spectral line profiles from coexistent neutral and ion molecular species commonly detected in molecular clouds, sites of star formation. Unlike other methods used to study magnetic fields in the cold interstellar medium, this ion/neutral technique is not based on spin interactions with the field. Instead, it relies on and takes advantage of the strong cyclotron coupling between the ions and magnetic fields, thus exposing what is probably the clearest observational manifestation of magnetic fields in the cold, weakly ionized gas that characterizes the interior of molecular clouds. We will show how recent development and modeling of the ensuing ion line narrowing effect leads to a determination of the ambipolar diffusion scale involving the turbulent component of magnetic fields in star-forming regions, as well as the strength of the ordered component of the magnetic field.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document