Towards a unified model for low- and high-mass star-formation

Séminaire IPAG de Alvaro Hacar Gonzalez (Leiden Observatory), jeudi 29 novembre 2018 à 11h00, salle Manuel Forestini

As demonstrated by different galactic surveys, the star-formation process is intimately connected to the formation and evolution of filaments. Using large-scale observations from both single-dish and interferometers such as IRAM and ALMA, we carried out a systematic study of the molecular emission of several filamentary clouds like Taurus, Perseus, and Orion. The analysis of the internal gas kinematics of these regions indicates a complex substructure in both low- and high-mass filaments. Independently of the environment, filaments are revealed as bundles of fibers of different complexity. The local properties of these fibers (internal motions, distribution, and mass) set the initial conditions for the formation stars within all these clouds. Based on these findings, we propose a unified star-formation scenario where the observed differences between low- and high-mass clouds, and the origin of clusters, emerge naturally from the initial concentration of fibers.