Dynamics of molecular clouds, turbulent fragmentation and star formation PDF Download

Author: P. Padoan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: E. Falgarone
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401133840
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 557

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A few years ago, a motivation for organizing one more IAU Symposium on star for mation in Grenoble, was the anticipated completion of the IRAM interferometer on the Plateau de Bures, close to Grenoble. This choice was also a sort of late celebration of the genius of Joseph Fourier, born in Grenoble, whose work is the very fondation of in terferometry. At the time when we finally announced the advent of this conference, the first reactions we got from the community were expressions of saturation and even reject, the Symposium being unfortunately scheduled almost simultaneously as two other major meetings on closely related topics, and sponsored by different organizations. A wave of disappointment then reached the organizers. Some of us were enthusiastic enough to help the others overcome their discouragement. Let them be thanked here. There was, indeed, a deeper motivation for organizing this conference. It was to trigger the meeting and communication of physicists and astrophysicists since many of the difficulties met now in understanding the physics of the interstellar medium and its evolution toward star formation are common to several, if not most, other fields of physics. They are assigned to one origin: complexity.

Author: Yuan Chi
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814550493
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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This volume is composed of four major in-depth yet pedagogic review chapters on the subject of star formation, written by the foremost researchers in the field. Recent infrared and millimeter radio observations are respectively reviewed by Charlie Lada and Phil Myers, both of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The theoretical work is reviewed by Frank Shu of UC-Berkeley on the gravitational collapse of dense cores in a giant molecular cloud to form sunlike stars and Bruce Elmegreen of IBM-Watson on the gravitational instability, leading to large-scale star formation. They have written at a level most suitable for graduate students or young researchers who want to develop their research interest in the field, with the most complete literature survey to date. This volume is not an ordinary conference proceedings, but a textbook to be used in graduate study in astrophysics. The volume also includes other short and interesting contributions from Doug Lin of UC-Santa Cruz, Paul Ho of Harvard-Smithsonian, Masa Hayashi of Tokyo University, Debra Elmegreen of Vassar, Jing-Yao Hu of Beijing Observatory, Guo-Xuan Sung of Shanghai Observatory, Chi Yuan of CCNY and ASIAA, and Wen-Ping Chen of Central University, Taiwan.

Author: Nickolay Y. Gnedin
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662478900
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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This book contains the elaborated and updated versions of the 24 lectures given at the 43rd Saas-Fee Advanced Course. Written by four eminent scientists in the field, the book reviews the physical processes related to star formation, starting from cosmological down to galactic scales. It presents a detailed description of the interstellar medium and its link with the star formation. And it describes the main numerical computational techniques designed to solve the equations governing self-gravitating fluids used for modelling of galactic and extra-galactic systems. This book provides a unique framework which is needed to develop and improve the simulation techniques designed for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. Presented in an accessible manner it contains the present day state of knowledge of the field. It serves as an entry point and key reference to students and researchers in astronomy, cosmology, and physics.

Author: José Franco
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521651318
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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This timely volume presents a series of review articles covering every aspect of interstellar turbulence--from accretion disks, molecular clouds, atomic and ionized media, through to spiral galaxies - based on a major international conference held in Mexico City.With advances in observational techniques and the development of more efficient computer codes and faster computers, research in this area has made spectacular progress in recent years. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the most important developments in observing and modelling turbulent flows in the cosmos. It provides graduate student and researchers with a state-of-the-art summary of observational, theoretical and computational research in interstellar turbulence.

Author: R. I. Klein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Developing a theory of low-mass star formation ({approx} 0.1 to 3 M{sub {circle_dot}}) remains one of the most elusive and important goals of theoretical astrophysics. The star-formation process is the outcome of the complex dynamics of interstellar gas involving non-linear interactions of turbulence, gravity, magnetic field and radiation. The evolution of protostellar condensations, from the moment they are assembled by turbulent flows to the time they reach stellar densities, spans an enormous range of scales, resulting in a major computational challenge for simulations. Since the previous Protostars and Planets conference, dramatic advances in the development of new numerical algorithmic techniques have been successfully implemented on large scale parallel supercomputers. Among such techniques, Adaptive Mesh Refinement and Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics have provided frameworks to simulate the process of low-mass star formation with a very large dynamic range. It is now feasible to explore the turbulent fragmentation of molecular clouds and the gravitational collapse of cores into stars self-consistently within the same calculation. The increased sophistication of these powerful methods comes with substantial caveats associated with the use of the techniques and the interpretation of the numerical results. In this review, we examine what has been accomplished in the field and present a critique of both numerical methods and scientific results. We stress that computational simulations should obey the available observational constraints and demonstrate numerical convergence. Failing this, results of large scale simulations do not advance our understanding of low-mass star formation.

Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The formation of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) sets the stage for the formation of protostellar systems by the gravitational collapse of dense regions within the GMC that fragment into smaller core components that in turn condense into stars. Developing a comprehensive theory of star formation remains one of the most elusive, and most important, goals of theoretical astrophysics. Inherent in the difficulty in attaining this goal is that the gravitational collapse depends critically upon initial conditions within the cores which only recently have been known with sufficient accuracy to permit a realistic theoretical attack on the problem. Observations of stars in the vicinity of the Sun show that binary systems are prevalent and appear to be a general outcome of the collapse and fragmentation process. Despite years of progress, theoretical studies have still not determined why binary stars occur with such frequency, or indeed, even what processes determine the transition from single stars to binaries and thence to multiple stellar systems. One of the major goals of this research is to understand the nature of the formation of binary and multiple stellar systems with typical low mass stars 0.2 to 3 M{sub {circle_dot}} and the physical properties of these systems. Basic questions concerning this process remain unanswered. What determines the fraction of an unstable cloud that will fragment into protostellar objects? What determines the pattern of stellar clustering into binaries and multiple systems? Even after fragmentation occurs, we have little understanding of the subsequent collapse. Consequently, it is unclear how the mass distribution of fragments maps onto eventual stellar masses, something we must understand to explain the stellar initial mass function (IMF). We will first discuss the development of the numerical methodology that will contribute to answering these questions. This technology consists of a 3D parallel, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) self-gravitational, radiation-hydrodynamics code that we have developed. We will present new results for the gravitational collapse and fragmentation of marginally stable turbulent molecular cloud cores and follow the collapse of high mass fragments as they interact with the radiation of the protostars forming at their centers. We will discuss the theoretical difficulties in forming binary stars and the role of turbulence in their formation.

Author: Steven W. Stahler
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 3527618686
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 865

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This book is a comprehensive treatment of star formation, one of the most active fields of modern astronomy. The reader is guided through the subject in a logically compelling manner. Starting from a general description of stars and interstellar clouds, the authors delineate the earliest phases of stellar evolution. They discuss formation activity not only in the Milky Way, but also in other galaxies, both now and in the remote past. Theory and observation are thoroughly integrated, with the aid of numerous figures and images. In summary, this volume is an invaluable resource, both as a text for physics and astronomy graduate students, and as a reference for professional scientists.

Author: F. Combes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792310969
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Proceedings of the 146th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Paris, France, June 4-9, 1990

Author: Norbert S. Schulz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642239269
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Starburst regions in nearby and distant galaxies have a profound impact on our understanding of the early universe. This new, substantially updated and extended edition of Norbert Schulz’s unique book "From Dust to Stars" describes complex physical processes involved in the creation and early evolution of stars. It illustrates how these processes reveal themselves from radio wavelengths to high energy X-rays and gamma–rays, with special reference towards high energy signatures. Several sections devoted to key analysis techniques demonstrate how modern research in this field is pursued and new chapters are introduced on massive star formation, proto-planetary disks and observations of young exoplanets. Recent advances and contemporary research on the theory of star formation are explained, as are new observations, specifically from the three great observatories of the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory which all now operate at the same time and make high resolution space based observing in its prime. As indicated by the new title two new chapters have been included on proto-planetary disks and young exoplanets. Many more colour images illustrate attractive old and new topics that have evolved in recent years. The author gives updates in theory, fragmentation, dust, and circumstellar disks and emphasizes and strengthens the targeting of graduate students and young researchers, focusing more on computational approaches in this edition.