Institute for Advanced Study/Princeton University Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

A Predictive Theory of Star Formation and Turbulence Driving Across Cosmic Time

Our current view of the interstellar medium (ISM) is as a multiphase environment where magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence affects many key processes that govern the evolution of galactic disks include star formation. In this talk, I shall present an overview of new analytic models connecting turbulence, star formation, feedback, and disk instability. I will show that the turbulence in discs can be powered primarily by star formation feedback, radial transport, or a combination of the two. From scales of giant molecular clouds (GMCs), I will demonstrate how the star formation efficiency can be analytically calculated from our understanding of how turbulence, gravity, and stellar feedback induce density fluctuations in the ISM via a probability distribution function analysis. This analytic calculation predicts star formation rates and star formation efficiency from pc size scales (GMCs) to kpc size scales in galaxies and provides predictions for upcoming high-z JWST observations.

Date & Time

March 05, 2019 | 11:00am – 12:00pm

Location

Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Auditorium, Room 145

Speakers

Blakesley Burkhart

Affiliation

Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute / Rutgers University

Notes

Coffee and refreshments are available from 10:15 am in Peyton Hall Common Room.