From Diffuse Gas to Dense Molecular Cloud Cores
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From Diffuse Gas to Dense Molecular Cloud Cores Javier Ballesteros-Paredes1 · Philippe André2 · Patrick Hennebelle3 · Ralf S. Klessen4,5 · J.M. Diederik Kruijssen6 · Mélanie Chevance6 · Fumitaka Nakamura7,8,9 · Angela Adamo10 · Enrique Vázquez-Semadeni1
Received: 31 January 2020 / Accepted: 21 May 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Molecular clouds are a fundamental ingredient of galaxies: they are the channels that transform the diffuse gas into stars. The detailed process of how they do it is not completely understood. We review the current knowledge of molecular clouds and their substructure from scales ∼ 1 kpc down to the filament and core scale. We first review the mechanisms of cloud formation from the warm diffuse interstellar medium down to the cold and dense molecular clouds, the process of molecule formation and the role of the thermal and gravitational instabilities. We also discuss the main physical mechanisms through which Star Formation Edited by Andrei Bykov, Corinne Charbonnel, Patrick Hennebelle, Alexandre Marcowith, Georges Meynet, Maurizio Falanga and Rudolf von Steiger
B J. Ballesteros-Paredes
[email protected]
1
Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, UNAM, Campus Morelia, Antigua Carretera a Patzcuaro 8701, 58090 Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
2
Laboratoire d’Astrophysique (AIM), CEA/DRF, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
3
AIM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
4
Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Universität Heidelberg, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
5
Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
6
Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstraße 12-14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
7
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
8
Department of Astronomy, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
9
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015, Japan
10
Department of Astronomy, Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Centre, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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clouds gather their mass, and note that all of them may have a role at various stages of the process. In order to understand the dynamics of clouds we then give a critical review of the widely used virial theorem, and its relation to the measurable properties of molecular clouds. Since these properties are the tools we have for understanding the dynamical state of clouds, we critically analyse them. We finally discuss the ubiquitous filamentary structure of molecular clouds and its connection to prestellar cores and star formation. Keywords ISM: kinematics and dynamics · Stars: formation · ISM: magnetic fields · ISM: clouds
1 Introduction Since mol
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