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| EPoS Contribution |
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The link between molecular gas and star formation
Simon Glover ITA/ZAH, Heidelberg, Germany | |
| The fact that we observe stars to form within molecular clouds has often been taken to imply that the transition of hydrogen from atomic to molecular form is a key prerequisite for star formation. In the past few years, observations of nearby galaxies have shown that the surface density of star formation within them correlates far better with the surface density of molecular gas than with the surface density of atomic hydrogen, apparently providing strong support for this hypothesis. However, I will attempt to show that nevertheless this hypothesis is incorrect. The ability of gas to form stars does not depend to any significant extent on the presence of molecular gas. Rather, the atomic to molecular transition is simply a consequence of the physical conditions that are required for star formation. This has important consequences for models that attempt to predict the star formation rate in high redshift and/or low metallicity galaxies by modelling the atomic to molecular transition. | |
| Collaborators: P. Clark, ITA/ZAH, Germany C. Federrath, ITA/ZAH, Germany R. Klessen, ITA/ZAH, Germany F. Molina, ITA/ZAH, Germany M. Milosavljevic, ITA/ZAH, Germany M.-M. Mac Low, AMNH, USA |
Key publication
Suggested Session: Chemistry, Molecular Clouds |