Speaker
Mr
Gerardo Ramon Fox
(University of St. Andrews)
Description
F. G. Ramón Fox (1) and Ian Bonnell (1)
(1)University of St. Andrews
Galactic scale gas flows feed the growth of molecular clouds, the regions where stars form in high-density cores. These flows also play a role in driving the internal dynamics of these clouds, which affects their overall stability and star formation activity. The triggering of star formation involves a connection between large and small-scale dynamical processes in galaxies, which can be explored using high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations. We present results of our ongoing work in high-resolution N-body and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations of a galaxy model developing a realistic spiral arm structure. Our model has a mass resolution in the gas component down to 45 solar masses per gas particle. This allows us to study gas flows in a self-consistent galaxy and understand their role in the formation of molecular clouds. The high resolution allows us to follow individual molecular clouds and study their properties in different environments of a galaxy. The model galaxy also allows us to explore the effects of spiral arms on large scale flows. These simulations aid in understanding molecular cloud growth and star formation from a galactic perspective.
Author
Mr
Gerardo Ramon Fox
(University of St. Andrews)
Co-author
Prof.
Ian Bonnell
(University of St. Andrews)
