What probability distribution functions tell us about the processes of star formation

N. Schneider (1) , V. Ossenkopf (1) , R.S. Klessen (2) , T. Csengeri (3) , P. Girichidis (4) , C. Federrath (5) , Pascal Tremblin (6, 7) , Sylvain Bontemps (8) , N. Peretto (9, 10) , R. Simon (1) , J. Stutzki (11)

1 DAM/DIF - DAM Île-de-France
2 Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg] = Heidelberg University
3 MPIFR - Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
4 MPA - Materialprüfungsanstalt Universität Stuttgart [Stuttgart]
5 University of Canberra
6 MDLS - Maison de la Simulation
7 University of Exeter
8 FORMATION STELLAIRE 2016
9 DAP - Département d'Astrophysique (ex SAP)
10 AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112) - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
11 Physikalisches Institut [Köln]

Probability distribution functions of column density (N-PDFs) are used to evaluate the relative importance of gravity, turbulence, magnetic fields, geometry, and radiative feedback governing the cloud's density structure and star-formation activity. These proce- sses influence the N-PDF and thus determine their shape, ranging from a purely lognormal distribution to one with power-law tail(s).

Domaines: Astrophysique galactique [astro-ph.GA]

N. Schneider, V. Ossenkopf, R.S. Klessen, T. Csengeri, P. Girichidis, et al.. What probability distribution functions tell us about the processes of star formation. proceedings of The 6th Zermatt ISM Symposium: Conditions and Impact of Star Formation, held in Zermatt Switzerlant, 2015, september 7-11, Edited by R. Simon, R. Schaaf and J. Stutzki. EAS Publications Series, Volume 75-76, 2016, pp.175-176, Sep 2015, Zermatt Switzerland. ⟨10.1051/eas/1575031⟩. ⟨hal-01323797⟩