Star Formation: From Nearby Clouds to Starburst Galaxies

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

In this research, Dr. Evans and his team study star formation over wide scales. The idea is to connect knowledge about star formation on small scales in dense clumps of molecular clouds in our Galaxy to overall star formation processes in other galaxies. Star formation occurs in dense cores and clumps of molecular gas and dust which can be probed with observations at radio- and infrared wavelengths. The study for nearby star formation and for more distant galactic massive clumps uses recent and new observations with the McDonald Observatory integral field unit, called VIRUS-P, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, and ALMA as well as archival data from Spitzer. This and results from large-scale surveys such as the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey will connect local studies of star formation to star formation in other galaxies on a large-scale. Observations of other galaxies show that the star formation rate is related to the overall gas surface density (Kennicutt-Schmidt relations) and these relations are important for models of galaxy formation and evolution. The work here will provide a better understanding of how large and small scale physics of star formation is linked. Graduate and undergraduate students participate in this fundamental research topic, and results are incorporated into teaching, and outreach activities.