Issue |
EAS Publications Series
Volume 51, 2011
Star Formation in the Local Universe – EES2010
|
|
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Page(s) | 169 - 190 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/eas/1151010 | |
Published online | 16 November 2011 |
Star Formation in the Local Universe – EES2010
C. Charbonnel and T. Montmerle (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 51 (2011) 169–190
C. Charbonnel and T. Montmerle (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 51 (2011) 169–190
From molecular clouds to prestellar cores: physics of the gravitational infall, filaments and open questions
European Southern Observatory, Karl Schwarzschild strasse 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
In this lecture, the general properties of molecular clouds are presented, then the physics of the earliest stages of star formation is introduced thanks to a simplified stability analysis of these clouds. We later compare the outcomes of this analysis with observations of molecular clouds and point out the complex interplay of gravity, magnetic fields and turbulence necessary for the understanding of star formation processes, with a special emphasis on preliminary results from the recent Herschel Gould Belt survey.
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2011