A new study by an international team of researchers has used the power of a computer to map the so-called “sonic scale”, showing the key role of perturbation in star formation.
The sonic scale indicates the shift from supersonic disturbance, which is faster than the speed of sound, to subsonic disturbance, which is slower than the speed of sound. Gas under the sonic scale can fall to form stars.
Their simulation is the largest ever of its kind and could help answer a key question in astronomy – when and how stars form in interstellar gas clouds.
According to lead researcher, Professional Professor Christoph Federrath from the Australian National University (ANU), temptation is a key ingredient for star formation.
“Temptation controls the speed of star formation, awakens gas and slows down the activity of gravity,” he said.
“Without temptation, stars will be a hundred times faster than ever before.
“While the temptation itself is loud – or faster than the speed of sound – star formation is very slow. This is because the temptation slows down the formation of stars, so that only about one sun a year is created in the entire Milky Way.
“On the other hand, temptation also triggers the formation of stars on blades below the so-called ‘sonic scale’.
The research team is now looking to expand their study.
“Next we would like to add magnetic fields, chemistry and cooling to a sample of this size, to learn more about the processes that take place when stars form,” said Professional Professor Federrath .
“This will be very challenging, as it would take up even more memory, space and computing power. Such a simulation would simply fit Australia’s new ‘Super Computing’ supercomputer at the National Computing Infrastructure. ”
The research team included scientists from the University of Heidelberg and the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Germany.
The study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.