Star formation can be triggered by compression from shock waves. In this study, we investigated the interaction of hydrodynamic shocks with Bonnor-Ebert spheres using 3D hydrodynamical simulations with self-gravity. Our simulations indicated that the cloud evolution primarily depends on two parameters: the shock speed and initial cloud radius. The stronger shock can compress the cloud more efficiently, and when the central region becomes gravitationally unstable, a shock triggers the cloud contraction. However, if it is excessively strong, it shreds the cloud more violently and the cloud is destroyed. From simple theoretical considerations, we derived the condition of triggered gravitational collapse, which agreed with the simulation results. Introducing sink particles, we followed the further evolution after star formation. Since stronger shocks tend to shred the cloud material more efficiently, the stronger the shock is, the smaller the final (asymptotic) masses of the stars formed (i.e., sink particles) become. In addition, the shock accelerates the cloud, promoting mixing of shock-accelerated interstellar medium gas. As a result, the separation between the sink particles and the shocked cloud center and their relative speed increase over time. We also investigated the effect of cloud turbulence on shock-cloud interaction. We observed that the cloud turbulence prevents rapid cloud contraction; thus, the turbulent cloud is destroyed more rapidly than the thermally-supported cloud. Therefore, the masses of stars formed become smaller. Our simulations can provide a general guide to the evolutionary process of dense cores and Bok globules impacted by shocks.
To understand the formation of a magnetically dominated molecular cloud from an atomic cloud, we study the interaction of a weak, radiative shock with a magnetised cloud. The thermally stable warm atomic cloud is initially in static equilibrium with the surrounding hot ionised gas. A shock propagating through the hot medium then interacts with the cloud. We follow the dynamical evolution of the shocked cloud with a time-dependent ideal magnetohydrodynamic code. By performing the simulations in 3D, we investigate the effect of different magnetic field orientations including parallel, perpendicu…
Recent observations suggest that intensive molecular cloud collision can trigger massive star/cluster formation. The most important physical process caused by the collision is a shock compression. In this paper, the influence of a shock wave on the evolution of a molecular cloud is studied numerically by using isothermal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations with the effect of self-gravity. Adaptive-mesh-refinement and sink particle techniques are used to follow long-time evolution of the shocked cloud. We find that the shock compression of turbulent inhomogeneous molecular cloud creates mass…
The region towards W51C is a convincing example of interaction between a supernova remnant and a surrounding molecular cloud. Large electron abundances have been reported towards the position W51C-E located in this interaction region, and it was proposed that the enhanced ionization fraction was due to cosmic ray particles freshly accelerated by the SNR shock. We present PdB interferometer observations of the H$^{13}$CO$^+$(1-0) and DCO$^+$(2-1) emission lines centered at position W51C-E. These observations confirm the previous scenario of cosmic-ray induced ionization at this location. In add…
Chemical Evolution during Molecular Cloud Formation Triggered by an Interstellar Shock Wave: Dependence on Shock Parameters and Comparison with Molecular Absorption Lines
We observed 42 molecular condensations within previously identified bright-rimmed clouds in the ammonia rotational inversion lines NH3 (1,1), (2,2), (3,3) and (4,4) using the Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. Using the relative peaks of the ammonia lines and their hyperfine satellites we have determined important parameters of these clouds, including rotational temperatures and column densities. These observations confirm the presence of dense gas towards IRAS point sources detected at submillimetre wavelengths. Derived physical properties allow us to refine the sample of brig…
Triggered star formation in bright rims and shells is reviewed. Shells are commonly observed in the Milky Way and other galaxies, but most diffuse shells seen in HI or the infrared do not have obvious triggered star formation. Dense molecular shells and pillars around HII regions often do have such triggering, although sometimes it is difficult to see what is triggered and what stars formed in the gas before the pressure disturbances. Pillar regions without clear age gradients could have their stars scattered by the gravity of the heads. Criteria and timescales for triggering are reviewed. The…
A "collect and collapse" model of triggered star formation is used to estimate the parameters of ring-like structure consisted of a sequence of low-mass clumps in the W40 region. The model parameters are close to the observed ones if the density of the cloud in which the HII zone is expanding is fairly high (>~ 10^5 cm^{-3}) and the luminosity of the driving source exceeds previous estimate. Probable reasons for the scatter of the observed parameters of the clumps are discussed.
Star formation is a fundamental process for galactic evolution. One issue over the last several decades has been determining whether star formation is induced by external triggers or is self-regulated in a closed system. The role of an external trigger, which can effectively collect mass in a small volume, has attracted particular attention in connection with the formation of massive stellar clusters, which in the extreme may lead to starbursts. Recent observations have revealed massive cluster formation triggered by cloud-cloud collisions in nearby interacting galaxies, including the Magellan…
The Vulpecula OB association, VulOB1, is a region of active star formation located in the Galactic plane at 2.3 kpc from the Sun. Previous studies suggest that sequential star formation is propagating along this 100 pc long molecular complex. In this paper, we use Spitzer MIPSGAL and GLIMPSE data to reconstruct the star formation history of VulOB1, and search for signatures of past triggering events. We make a census of Young Stellar Objects (YSO) in VulOB1 based on IR color and magnitude criteria, and we rely on the properties and nature of these YSOs to trace recent episodes of massive star …
We considered the regions of triggered star formation inside kpc-sized HI supershells in three dwarf galaxies: IC 1613, IC 2574 and Holmberg II. The ionized and neutral gas morphology and kinematics were studied based on our observations with scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer at the SAO RAS 6-m telescope and 21 cm archival data of THINGS and LITTLE THINGS surveys. The qualitative analysis of the observational data performed in order to highlight the two questions: why the star formation occurred very locally in the supershells, and how the ongoing star formation in HI supershells rims influe…
We investigated the environment of the infrared dust bubbles S51, N68, and N131 from catalogue of Churchwell et al. (2006), and searched for evidence of triggered star formation.
(Abridged) Bright-rimmed clouds (BRCs) are isolated molecular clouds located on the edges of evolved HII regions where star formation is thought may have been triggered. In this paper we investigate the current level of star formation within a sample of BRCs and evaluate to what extent star formation may have been induced. We present the results of a programme of position-switched CO observations towards 45 southern BRCs. The 12CO, 13CO and C18O (J=1-0) were simultaneously observed using the 22m Mopra telescope. We complement these observations with archival mid-IR submm and radio data. Analys…
To investigate feedback between relativistic jets emanating from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and the stellar population of the host galaxy, we analyze the long-term evolution of the galaxy-scale simulations by Gaibler et al. (2012) of jets in massive, gas-rich galaxies at z ~ 2 - 3 and of stars formed in the host galaxies. We find strong, jet-induced differences in the resulting stellar populations of galaxies that host relativistic jets and galaxies that do not, including correlations in stellar locations, velocities, and ages. Jets are found to generate distributions of increased radial and…
We present MUSE observations of AM1354-250, confirming its status as a collisional ring galaxy which has recently undergone an interaction, creating its distinctive shape. We analyse the stellar and gaseous emission throughout the galaxy finding direct evidence that the gaseous ring is expanding with a velocity of $\sim$70km.s$^{-1}$ and that star formation is occurring primarily in HII regions associated with the ring. This star formation activity is likely triggered by the interaction. We find evidence for several excitation mechanisms in the gas, including emission consistent with shocked g…
We studied the environment of the dust bubble N10 in molecular emission. Infrared bubbles, first detected by the GLIMPSE survey at 8.0 $μ$m, are ideal regions to investigate the effect of the expansion of the HII region on its surroundings eventual triggered star formation at its borders. In this work, we present a multi-wavelength study of N10. This bubble is especially interesting as infrared studies of the young stellar content suggest a scenario of ongoing star formation, possibly triggered, on the edge of the HII region. We carried out observations of $^{12}$CO(1-0) and $^{13}$CO(1-0) emi…
Emission in the ultraviolet continuum is a salient signature of the hot, massive and consequently short-lived, stellar population that traces recent or ongoing star formation. With the aim of mapping star forming regions and morphologically separating the generic star formation from that associated with the galaxy-scale jet activity, we obtained high-resolution HST/UV imaging for a sample of nine compact radio sources. Out of these, seven are known Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) galaxies that host young, kpc-scale radio sources and hence are the best candidates for studying radio-mode feedback o…
Evidence for triggered star formation linking three generations of stars is difficult to assemble, as it requires convincingly associating evolved massive stars with Hii regions that, in turn, would need to present signs of active star formation. We present observational evidence for triggered star formation relating three generations of stars in the neighbourhood of the star LS II +26 8. We carried out new spectroscopic observations of LS II +26 8, revealing that it is a B0 III-type star. We note that LS II +26 8 is located exactly at the geometric centre of a semi-shell-like Hii region compl…
Understanding the mechanism of O star formation is one of the most important issues in current astrophysics. It is also an issue of keen interest how O stars affect their surroundings and trigger secondary star formation. An H\,\emissiontype{II} region RCW79 is one of the typical Spitzer bubbles alongside of RCW120. New observations of CO $J=$ 1--0 emission with Mopra and NANTEN2 revealed that molecular clouds are associated with RCW79 in four velocity components over a velocity range of 20 km s$^{-1}$. We hypothesize that two of the clouds collided with each other and the collision triggered …
Black hole driven outflows have been observed in some dwarf galaxies with active galactic nuclei (1), and likely play a role in heating and expelling gas (thereby suppressing star formation), as they do in larger galaxies (2). The extent to which black hole outflows can trigger star formation in dwarf galaxies is unclear, because work in this area has hitherto focused on massive galaxies and the observational evidence is scarce (3,4,5). Henize 2-10 is a dwarf starburst galaxy previously reported to have a central massive black hole (6,7,8,9), though that interpretation has been disputed since …
The Orion Nebula Cluster toward the HII region M42 is the most outstanding young cluster at the smallest distance 410pc among the rich high-mass stellar clusters. By newly analyzing the archival molecular data of the 12CO(J=1-0) emission at 21" resolution, we identified at least three pairs of complementary distributions between two velocity components at 8km/s and 13km/s. We present a hypothesis that the two clouds collided with each other and triggered formation of the high-mass stars, mainly toward two regions including the nearly ten O stars, theta1 Ori and theta2 Ori, in M42 and the B sta…
We use Two Micron All Sky Survey, GLIMPSE, and MIPSGAL survey data to analyze the young stellar object (YSO) and warm dust distribution around several mid-infrared-identified bubbles. We identify YSOs using J-band to 8 um photometry and correlate their distribution relative to the PDR (as traced by diffuse 8 um emission) which we assume to be associated with and surround a HII region. We find that only 20% of the sample HII regions appear to have a significant number of YSOs associated with their PDRs, implying that triggered star formation mechanisms acting on the boundary of the expanding HI…
Stars are born in dense molecular filaments irrespective of their mass. Compression of the ISM by shocks cause filament formation in molecular clouds. Observations show that a massive star cluster formation occurs where the peak of gas column density in a cloud exceeds 10^23 cm^-2. In this study, we investigate the effect of the shock-compressed layer duration on filament/star formation and how the initial conditions of massive star formation are realized by performing three-dimensional (3D) isothermal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations with {gas inflow duration from the boundaries (i.e., …
Star forming dwarf galaxies in the local volume are diverse and are ideal test beds to understand details of star formation in a variety of environments. Here, we present a deep FUV imaging study of a nearby dwarf irregular galaxy IC 2574 using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT). We identified 419 FUV bright regions with radii between 15 - 285 pc in the galaxy and found that 28.6\% of them to be located in H~I shells, 12.6\% inside holes and 60.1\% to be away from the holes. The H~I column density is found to be more than $10^{21} cm^{-2}$ for 82.3\% of the identified regions. 30 out of …
We report on the near-infrared polarimetric observations of RCW 120 with the 1.4 m IRSF telescope. The starlight polarization of the background stars reveals for the first time the magnetic field of RCW 120. The global magnetic field of RCW 120 is along the direction of $20^\circ$, parallel to the Galactic plane. The field strength on the plane of the sky is $100\pm26\,μ$G. The magnetic field around the eastern shell shows evidence of compression by the HII region. The external pressure (turbulent pressure + magnetic pressure) and the gas density of the ambient cloud are minimum along the dire…
The Rosette complex is a well studied region of the galactic plane which presents the apparent characteristics of a triggered star forming region. This is however still debated as no strong evidence corroborates this statement. We focus on characterizing the young stellar population in the Rosette complex to improve our understanding of the processes that regulate the star formation in this region. We propose an original method that relies on the joint analysis of the star color and density in the near-infrared. It leads to mapping the molecular cloud spatial distribution and detecting the emb…
Radiative and mechanical feedback of massive stars regulates star formation and galaxy evolution. Positive feedback triggers the creation of new stars by collecting dense shells of gas, while negative feedback disrupts star formation by shredding molecular clouds. Although key to understanding star formation, their relative importance is unknown. Here, we report velocity-resolved observations from the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) legacy program FEEDBACK of the massive star-forming region RCW 120 in the [CII] 1.9-THz fine-structure line, revealing a gas shell expandi…
Evidence of triggered star formation at large spatial scales involving stellar clusters is scarce. We investigate a Galactic region (l=130.0, b=0.35) populated by several open stellar clusters that according to the last GAIA data release, are located at a distance of about 2.9 kpc. By analyzing the interstellar medium (ISM) at infrared, centimeter, and millimeter wavelengths towards this group of clusters we discovered a shell of material of about 2 degree in size at the same distance. We suggest that the shell, mainly observed at 12 um and in the Hi emission at 21 cm, was generated by the act…
In the optical spectra of galaxies, the separation of line emission from gas ionised by star formation and an AGN, or by star formation and shocks, are very well-understood problems. However, separating line emission between AGN and shocks has proven difficult. With the aid of a new three-dimensional diagnostic diagram, we show the simultaneous separation of line emission from star formation, shocks, and AGN in NGC 1068, and quantify the ratio of star formation, shocks, and AGN in each spaxel. The AGN, shock, and star formation luminosity distributions across the galaxy accurately align with X…
The multiplicity of metal-free (Population III) stars may influence their feedback efficiency within their host dark matter halos, affecting subsequent metal enrichment and the transition to galaxy formation. Radiative feedback from massive stars can trigger nearby star formation in dense self-shielded clouds. In model radiation self-shielding, the H$_2$ column density must be accurately computed. In this study, we compare two local approximations based on the density gradient and Jeans length with a direct integration of column density along rays. After the primary massive star forms, we find…
Mid-infrared (MIR) shells or bubbles around expanding H II regions have received much attention due to their ability to initiate a new generation of star formation. We present multi-wavelength observations around two bubbles associated with a southern massive star-forming (MSF) region G8.14+0.23, to investigate the triggered star formation signature on the edges of the bubbles by the expansion of the H II region. We have found observational signatures of the collected molecular and cold dust material along the bubbles and the 12CO(J=3-2) velocity map reveals that the molecular gas in the bubbl…
Recent observations of molecular clouds show that dense filaments are the sites of present-day star formation. Thus, it is necessary to understand the filament formation process because these filaments provide the initial condition for star formation. Theoretical research suggests that shock waves in molecular clouds trigger filament formation. Since several different mechanisms have been proposed for filament formation, the formation mechanism of the observed star-forming filaments requires clarification. In the present study, we perform a series of isothermal magnetohydrodynamics simulations…
NGC 602 is an outstanding young open cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud. We have analyzed the new HI data taken with the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder survey project at an angular resolution of 30". The results show that there are three velocity components in the NGC 602 region. We found that two of them having ~20 km s$^{-1}$ velocity separation show complementary spatial distribution with a displacement of 147 pc. We present a scenario that the two clouds collided with each other and triggered the formation of NGC 602 and eleven O stars. The average time scale of t…
We analyzed the NANTEN2 13CO (J=2-1 and 1-0) datasets in NGC 2024. We found that the cloud consists of two velocity components, whereas the cloud shows mostly single-peaked CO profiles. The two components are physically connected to the HII region as evidenced by their close correlation with the dark lanes and the emission nebulosity. The two components show complementary distribution with a displacement of 0.4 pc. Such complementary distribution is typical to colliding clouds discovered in regions of high-mass star formation. We hypothesize that cloud-cloud collision between the two component…
Understanding of massive cluster formation is one of the important issues of astronomy. By analyzing the HI data, we have identified that the two HI velocity components (L- and D-components) are colliding toward the HI Ridge, in the southeastern end of the LMC, which hosts the young massive cluster R136 and $\sim$400 O/WR stars (Doran et al. 2013) including the progenitor of SN1987A. The collision is possibly evidenced by bridge features connecting the two HI components and complementary distributions between them. We frame a hypothesis that the collision triggered the formation of R136 and th…
Together with interstellar turbulence, gravitation is one key player in star formation. It acts both at galactic scales in the assembly of gas into dense clouds, and inside those structures for their collapse and the formation of pre-stellar cores. To understand to what extent the large scale dynamics govern the star formation activity of galaxies, we present hydrodynamical simulations in which we generalise the behaviour of gravity to make it differ from Newtonian dynamics in the low acceleration regime. We focus on the extreme cases of interacting galaxies, and compare the evolution of galax…
We have made CO(J=2-1) observations towards the HII region RCW 49 and its ionizing source, the rich stellar cluster Westerlund 2 (hereafter Wd2), with the NANTEN2 sub-mm telescope. These observations have revealed that two molecular clouds in velocity ranges of -11 to +9 km/s and 11 to 21 km/s respectively, show remarkably good spatial correlations with the Spitzer IRAC mid-infrared image of RCW 49, as well a velocity structures indicative of localized expansion around the bright central regions and stellar cluster. This strongly argues that the two clouds are physically associated with RCW 49…
We present multi-wavelength analysis around mid-infrared bubble N14 to probe the signature of triggered star formation as well as the formation of new massive star(s) and/or cluster(s) on the borders of the bubble by the expansion of the H II region. Spitzer-IRAC ratio maps reveal that the bubble is traced by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission following an almost circular morphology except in the south-west direction towards the low molecular density environment. The observational signatures of the collected molecular and cold dust material have been found around the bubble. We have …
The nature of the far-IR source HOPS 108 has been a matter of debate in the last years. Previous radio observations detected a 3.6 cm source (VLA 12), coincident with HOPS 108, that was interpreted as a radio jet from this protostar. We present new multi-wavelength (0.7-5 cm), multi-configuration VLA observations as well as archive data (3.6 cm) that reveal VLA 12 as three knots of non-thermal emission, with HOPS 108 close to the central knot. We show that these knots have not been ejected by HOPS 108. We propose that the VLA 12 knots are actually part of a radio jet driven by VLA 11 (HOPS 370…
Galactic bars are important drivers of galactic evolution, and yet how they impact the interstellar medium and correspondingly star formation, remains unclear. We present simulation results for two barred galaxies with different formation mechanisms, bars formed in isolation or via a tidal interaction, to consider the spatially and temporally varying trends of star formation. We focus on the early (< 1Gyr) epoch of bar formation so that the interaction is clearly identifiable. The nearby NGC 4303 (isolated) and NGC 3627 (interaction history) are selected as observational analogues to tailor th…
As part of a systematic study that we are performing with the aim to increase the observational evidence of triggered star formation in the surroundings of HII regions, we analyze the ISM around the HII region G35.673-00.847, a poorly studied source. Using data from large-scale surveys: Two Micron All Sky Survey, Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE), MIPSGAL, Galactic Ring Survey (GRS), VLA Galactic Plane Survey (VGPS), and NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) we performed a multiwavelength study of G35.673-00.847 and its surroundings. The mid IR emission, shows that G35.67…
The environments surrounding nine Wolf-Rayet stars were studied in molecular emission. Expanding shells were detected surrounding these WR stars (see left panels of Figure 1). The average masses and radii of the molecular cores surrounding these WR stars anti-correlate with the WR stellar wind velocities (middle panels of Figure 1), indicating the WR stars has great impact on their environments. The number density of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is enhanced in the molecular shells at $\sim$5 arcmin from the central WR star (lower-right panel of Figure 1). Through detailed studies of the molecu…
The environment surrounding Wolf-Rayet star HD 211853 is studied in molecular emission, infrared emission, as well as radio and HI emission. The molecular ring consists of well-separated cores, which have a volume density of 10$^{3}$ cm$^{-3}$ and kinematic temperature $\sim$20 K. Most of the cores are under gravitational collapse due to external pressure from the surrounding ionized gas. From SED modeling towards the young stellar objects (YSOs), sequential star formation is revealed on a large scale in space spreading from the Wolf-Rayet star to the molecular ring. A small scale sequential s…
One of the main reasons that triggered star formation is contentious is the failure to accurately link the observations with models in a detailed, quantitative, way. It is therefore critical to continuously test and improve the model details and methods with which comparisons to observations are made. We use a Monte Carlo radiation transport and hydrodynamics code TORUS to show that the diffuse radiation field has a significant impact on the outcome of radiatively driven implosion (RDI) models. We also calculate SEDs and synthetic images from the models to test observational diagnostics that a…
We investigated six H II regions with infrared, bright rimmed bubble or cometary morphology, in search of quantitative evidence for triggered star formation, both collect and collapse and radiatively driven implosion. We identified and classified 458 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in and around the H II regions. YSOs were determined by fitting a collection of radiative transfer model spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to infrared photometry for a large sample of point sources. We determined areas where there exist enhanced populations of relatively unevolved YSOs on the bright rims of these re…
The evolution of galaxy merger rates and its impact on galaxy properties have been studied intensively over the last decade. It becomes clear now that various types of mergers, i.e. gas-rich (wet), gas-poor (dry), or mixed mergers, affect the merger products in different ways. The epoch when each type of merger dominates also differs. In this talk, I review the recent progress on the measurements of galaxy merger rates out to z ~ 3 and the level of interaction-triggered star formation using large samples from various redshift surveys. These results provide insights to the importance of mergers…
The presence and abundance of the short-lived radioisotopes (SLRs) $^{26}$Al and $^{60}$Fe during the formation of the Solar System is difficult to explain unless the Sun formed in the vicinity of one or more massive star(s) that exploded as supernovae. Two different scenarios have been proposed to explain the delivery of SLRs to the protosolar nebula: (i) direct pollution of the protosolar disc by supernova ejecta and (ii) the formation of the Sun in a sequential star formation event in which supernovae shockwaves trigger further star formation which is enriched in SLRs. The sequentially trig…
Radiative feedback from massive stars can potentially trigger star formation in the surrounding molecular gas. Inspired by the case of radiatively driven implosion in M16 or Eagle Nebula, we analyze a similar case of star formation observed in the Cygnus X region. We present new JCMT observations of $^{13}$CO(3-2) and C$^{18}$O(3-2) molecular lines of a cometary feature located at 50 pc north of the Cyg OB2 complex that was previously identified in $^{12}$CO(3-2) mapping. These data are combined with archival H$α$, infrared, and radio continuum emission data, from which we measure the mass to …
Stars are formed by gravitational collapse, spontaneously or, in some cases under the constructive influence of nearby massive stars, out of molecular cloud cores. Here we present an observational diagnosis of such triggered formation processes in the prominent \ion{H}{2} region Sh\,2-142, which is associated with the young star cluster NGC\,7380, and with some bright-rimmed clouds as the signpost of photoionization of molecular cloud surfaces. Using near- (2MASS) and mid-infrared (WISE) colors, we identified candidate young stars at different evolutionary stages, including embedded infrared s…
The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental issue in the theory of star formation. It is generally fit with a composite power law. Some clues on the progenitors can be found in dense starless cores that have a core mass function (CMF) with a similar shape. In the low-mass end, these mass functions increase with mass, albeit the sample may be somewhat incomplete; in the high-mass end, the mass functions decrease with mass. There is an offset in the turn-over mass between the two mass distributions. The stellar mass for the IMF peak is lower than the corresponding core…
Massive clumps tend to fragment into clusters of cores and condensations, some of which form high-mass stars. In this work, we study the structure of massive clumps at different scales, analyze the fragmentation process, and investigate the possibility that star formation is triggered by nearby HII regions. We present a high angular resolution study of a sample of 8 massive proto-cluster clumps. Combining infrared data, we use few-arcsecond resolution radio- and millimeter interferometric data to study their fragmentation and evolution. Our sample is unique in the sense that all the clumps hav…
We investigate the effect of including diffuse field radiation when modelling the radiatively driven implosion of a Bonnor-Ebert sphere (BES). Radiation-hydrodynamical calculations are performed by using operator splitting to combine Monte Carlo photoionization with grid-based Eulerian hydrodynamics that includes self-gravity. It is found that the diffuse field has a significant effect on the nature of radiatively driven collapse which is strongly coupled to the strength of the driving shock that is established before impacting the BES. This can result in either slower or more rapid star forma…
OB associations are home to newly formed massive stars, whose turbulent winds and ionizing flux create H II regions rich with star formation. Studying the distribution and abundance of young stellar objects (YSOs) in these ionized bubbles can provide essential insight into the physical processes that shape their formation, allowing us to test competing models of star formation. In this work, we examined one such OB association, Cepheus OB4 (Cep OB4) - a well-suited region for studying YSOs due to its Galactic location, proximity, and geometry. We created a photometric catalog from Spitzer/IRAC…
We use the SDSS Stripe 82 to empirically quantify the stellar-mass and black-hole growth triggered by minor mergers in local spiral (disk) galaxies. Since major mergers destroy disks and create spheroids, morphologically disturbed spirals are likely remnants of minor mergers. Disturbed spirals exhibit enhanced specific star formation rates (SSFRs), the enhancement increasing in galaxies of 'later' morphological type (which have more gas and smaller bulges). By combining the SSFR enhancements with the fraction of time spirals spend in this 'enhanced' mode, we estimate that ~40% of the star form…
We study the effects of passages of compact objects such as stars, star clusters, and black holes through molecular clouds, and propose that the gravitational interaction between the compact object and the ambient gas can lead to the formation of thin and collimated features made of dense gas, which we call "molecular contrails". Supercritical contrails can collapse further leading to triggered star formation. The width of a molecular contrail is determined by the mass and velocity of the compact object and the velocity dispersion of the ambient molecular medium. Under typical conditions in th…
Rich young stellar clusters produce HII regions whose expansion into the nearby molecular cloud is thought to trigger the formation of new stars. However, the importance of this mode of star formation is uncertain. This investigation seeks to quantify triggered star formation (TSF) in IC 1396A (a.k.a., the Elephant Trunk Nebula), a bright rimmed cloud (BRC) on the periphery of the nearby giant HII region IC 1396 produced by the Trumpler 37 cluster. X-ray selection of young stars from Chandra X-ray Observatory data is combined with existing optical and infrared surveys to give a more complete c…
Massive clumps within the swept-up shells of bubbles, like that surrounding the galactic HII region RCW 120, have been interpreted in terms of the Collect and Collapse (C&C) mechanism for triggered star formation. The cold, dusty clumps surrounding RCW 120 are arranged in an almost spherical shell and harbour many young stellar objects. By performing high-resolution, three-dimensional SPH simulations of HII regions expanding into fractal molecular clouds, we investigate whether the formation of massive clumps in dense, swept-up shells necessarily requires the C&C mechanism. In a second step, w…
