From galaxy scales to filamentary clouds: the earliest stages of star formation
Clare Dobbs
U Exeter, Exeter, UK
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I will review recent observational and theoretical work on the accumulation of gas into molecular clouds. I will discuss galactic-scale observations of molecular clouds and their properties, and the observational and theoretical arguments for different cloud formation mechanisms. Current work on nearby galaxies is challenging the paradigm that molecular clouds are essentially identical and that the star formation rate is solely dependent on density. I will also present observational and numerical studies of the conversion of HI to H2 and the likely origin of molecular complexes in our and other galaxies. Finally I will consider intermediate ~1 kpc scale simulations which are able to incorporate galactic dynamics and resolve clouds, and discuss the initial conditions these provide for studies of star formation.
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Suggested Session:
Molecular Clouds
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