The Molecular Cloud Lifecycle
- PDF / 2,744,128 Bytes
- 42 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 40 Downloads / 184 Views
The Molecular Cloud Lifecycle Mélanie Chevance1 · J.M. Diederik Kruijssen1 · Enrique Vazquez-Semadeni2 · Fumitaka Nakamura3,4,5 · Ralf Klessen6 · Javier Ballesteros-Paredes2 · Shu-ichiro Inutsuka7 · Angela Adamo8 · Patrick Hennebelle9
Received: 3 February 2020 / Accepted: 11 April 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and their stellar offspring are the building blocks of galaxies. The physical characteristics of GMCs and their evolution are tightly connected to galaxy evolution. The macroscopic properties of the interstellar medium propagate into the properties of GMCs condensing out of it, with correlations between e.g. the galactic and GMC scale gas pressures, surface densities and volume densities. That way, the galactic environment sets the initial conditions for star formation within GMCs. After the onset of massive star formation, stellar feedback from e.g. photoionisation, stellar winds, and supernovae eventually contributes to dispersing the parent cloud, depositing energy, momentum and metals into the surrounding medium, thereby changing the properties of galaxies. This Star Formation Edited by Andrei Bykov, Corinne Charbonnel, Patrick Hennebelle, Alexandre Marcowith, Georges Meynet, Maurizio Falanga and Rudolf von Steiger
B M. Chevance
[email protected]
1
Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstraße 12-14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
2
Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxíco, Campus Morelia, Apdo. Postal 3-72, Morelia 58089, Mexico
3
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
4
Department of Astronomy, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
5
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015, Japan
6
Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Universität Heidelberg, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
7
Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
8
Department of Astronomy, Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Centre, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
9
AIM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
50
Page 2 of 42
M. Chevance et al.
cycling of matter between gas and stars, governed by star formation and feedback, is therefore a major driver of galaxy evolution. Much of the recent debate has focused on the durations of the various evolutionary phases that constitute this cycle in galaxies, and what these can teach us about the physical mechanisms driving the cycle. We review results from observational, theoretical, and numerical work to build a dynamical picture of the evolutionary lifecycle of GMC evolution, star formation, and feedback in galaxies. Keywords Star formation · Interstellar medium · Molecular clouds · Galaxy evolution
1 The Matter Cycle in Molecular Clouds and Galax
Data Loading...
