2003/11/04 by Enrique Vazquez‐Semadeni, Enrique Vazquez-Semadeni · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1023/b:astr.0000045017.71267.52
published as Astrophys.Space Sci. 292 (2004) 187-192 · 6 pages, no figures. Introduction and summary of session of same name for the proceedings of "Magnetic Fields and Star Formation: Theory versus Observations", eds. A.I. Gomez de Castro et al. (Kluwer), in press. Uses kluwer.cls
arxiv created 2003/11/04 · openalex publication_date 2004/07/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
I present an overview of the hierarchy of structures existing in the interstellar medium (ISM) and the possible mechanisms that cause the fragmentation of one level into the next, with the formation of stars as its last step. Within this framework, I then give an overview of the contributions to this session. Numerical work addresses, at the largest scales, the shaping and formation of structures in the ISM through turbulence driven by stellar energy injection, and the resulting star formation rate as a function of mean density. At the scales of molecular clouds, results comparing observational and numerical data on the density and velocity structure of turbulence-produced cores, as well as their mass spectra, are summarized, together with existing theories of core and star formation controlled by the turbulence. Observationally, an attempt to discriminate between the standard and turbulent models of star formation is presented, finding inconclusive results, but suggesting that both turbulence and the magnetic field are dynamically important in molecular clouds and their cores. Finally, various determinations of the magnetic field strength and geometry are also presented.