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From molecular clouds to prestellar cores: physics of the gravitational infall, filaments and open questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2011

C. Charbonnel ,
T. Montmerle  and
A. Maury
A. Maury*
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Karl Schwarzschild strasse 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
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Abstract

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.

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Research Article
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European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 51: Star Formation in the Local Universe – EES2010 , 2011 , pp. 169 - 190
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© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2011

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