Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-pwrkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-29T01:35:43.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stochastic star formation and spiral structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

Philip E. Seiden
Philip E. Seiden*
Affiliation:
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center Yorktown Heights, New York 10598

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Most approaches to explaining the long-range order of the spiral arms in galaxies assume that it is induced by the long-range gravitational interaction. However, it is well-known in many fields of physics that long-range order may be induced by short-range interactions. A typical example is magnetism, where the exchange interaction between magnetic spins has a range of only 10 ångströms, yet a bar magnet can be made as large as one likes. Stochastic self-propagating star formation (SSPSF) starts from the point of view of a short-range interaction and examines the spiral structure arising from it (Seiden and Gerola 1982). We assume that the energetic processes of massive stars, stellar winds, ionization-front shocks and supernova shocks, in an OB association or open cluster can induce the creation of a new molecular cloud from cold interstellar atomic hydrogen. In turn this new molecular cloud will begin to form stars that will allow the process to repeat, creating a chain reaction. The differential rotation existing in a spiral galaxy will stretch the aggregation of recently created stars into spiral features.

Type
PART III: Dynamics and Evolution
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 106: The Milky Way Galaxy , 1985 , pp. 551 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1985 

References

Baker, P.L., and Burton, W.B.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 198, p. 281.Google Scholar
Burton, W.B., and Gordon, M.A.: 1978, Astron. and Astrophys. 63, p. 7.Google Scholar
Chromey, F.R.: 1978, Astron. J. 83, p. 162.Google Scholar
de Vaucouleurs, G., and Pence, W.D.: 1978, Astron. J. 83, p. 1163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, K.C.: 1970, Astrophys. J. 160, p. 811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulkarni, S.R., Blitz, L., and Heiles, C.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 259, p. L63.Google Scholar
Seiden, P.E.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 266, p. 555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seiden, P.E., and Gerola, H.: 1982, Fund. Cosmic Phys. 7, p. 241.Google Scholar
Seiden, P.E., Schulman, L.S., and Elmegreen, D.B.: 1984, Astrophys. J. (to be published).Google Scholar
Schulman, L.S., and Seiden, P.E.: 1982, J. Stat. Phys. 27, p. 83.Google Scholar
Stark, A.A.: 1983, in “Kinematics, Dynamics and Structure of the Milky Way”, Shuter, W.L.H. (ed.), Reidel, p. 127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Kruit, P.C., and Searle, L.: 1982, Astron. Astrophys. 95, p. 105.Google Scholar
Young, J.S., and Scoville, N.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 258, p. 467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar