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The molecular cloud lifecycle

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 ou...

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Main Authors: Chevance, Mélanie (Author) , Kruijssen, Diederik (Author) , Vazquez-Semadeni, Enrique (Author) , Nakamura, Fumitaka (Author) , Klessen, Ralf S. (Author) , Ballesteros-Paredes, Javier (Author) , Inutsuka, Shu-ichiro (Author) , Adamo, Angela (Author) , Hennebelle, Patrick (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 28 April 2020
In: Space science reviews
Year: 2020, Volume: 216, Issue: 4
ISSN:1572-9672
DOI:10.1007/s11214-020-00674-x
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00674-x
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Author Notes:Mélanie Chevance, J. M. Diederik Kruijssen, Enrique Vazquez-Semadeni, Fumitaka Nakamura, Ralf Klessen, Javier Ballesteros-Paredes, Shu-ichiro Inutsuka, Angela Adamo, Patrick Hennebelle
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Summary: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 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.
Item Description:Gesehen am 17.06.2020
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1572-9672
DOI:10.1007/s11214-020-00674-x

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