HLRB Project pr32du
Molecular Cloud Formation in Colliding Flows
ITA Heidelberg
Proposing Institution
ITA Heidelberg
Project Manager
Dr. Robi Banerjee
Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2
69120 Heidelberg
Abstract
In this project we will study the formation and early evolution of molecular clouds in the magnetised interstellar medium (ISM) with colliding flow simulations. Molecular clouds are the birthplaces ofstars in galaxies and therefore are an essential link between the livecycle of the interstellar gas and star formation. It is still highlydebated how quickly molecular clouds can be build and how efficientlythey can form stars. In particular, the influence of magnetic fields on the dynamics of molecular clouds is fairly unknown.We already performed some numerical simulations to study the earlyphase of molecular clouds. In these models molecular clumps condenseout of a thermally unstable medium triggered by large collidingflows. Eventually, these molecular clumps become self-gravitating andcollapse to form stars. Our investigation of MC formation in a magnetised interstellar medium is complementary of the recentstudy by \citet{Vazquez07} where magnetic fields are notincluded. Our new calculations showed that even a weakmagnetic background field can delay and slow down star formation. Todraw a conclusive picture on influence of magnetic fields in such ascenario we have to explore a larger parameter space, covering different strengths and morphologies of magnetic fields.Furthermore, we will study the influence of ambipolar diffusion in such scenarios.
