The Supershell-Molecular Cloud Connection: Large-Scale Stellar Feedback and the Formation of the Molecular ISM

Abstract

The accumulation, compression and cooling of the ambient interstellar medium (ISM) in large-scale flows powered by OB cluster feedback can drive the production of dense molecular clouds. We review the current state of the field, with a strong focus on the explicit modelling and observation of the neutral interstellar medium. Magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of colliding ISM flows provide a strong theoretical framework in which to view feedback-driven cloud formation, as do models of the gravitational fragmentation of expanding shells. Rapid theoretical developments are accompanied by growing body of observational work that provides good evidence for the formation of molecular gas via stellar feedback - both in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The importance of stellar feedback compared to other major astrophysical drivers of dense gas formation remains to be investigated further, and will be an important target for future work.

20 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in PASA

References in corpus (89)

• Theory of Star Formation
• The Star Formation Rate of Turbulent Magnetized Clouds: Comparing Theory, Simulations, and Observations
• Structure of Stationary Photodissociation Fronts
• The Dark Molecular Gas
• The Millennium Arecibo 21-CM Absorption Line Survey. II. Properties of the Warm and Cold Neutral Media
• Rapid Formation of Molecular Clouds and Stars in the Solar Neighborhood
• Star Formation in a Crossing Time
• Molecular Cloud Evolution II. From cloud formation to the early stages of star formation in decaying conditions
• Thermal condensation in a turbulent atomic hydrogen flow
• Star Formation from Galaxies to Globules
• The Structure of the Interstellar Medium of Star Forming Galaxies
• Turbulent Structure of a Stratified Supernova-Driven Interstellar Medium
• Star Formation in Disk Galaxies. I. Formation and Evolution of Giant Molecular Clouds via Gravitational Instability and Cloud Collisions
• Simulating the formation of molecular clouds. II. Rapid formation from turbulent initial conditions
• The Second Survey of the Molecular Clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud by NANTEN I: Catalog of Molecular Clouds
• On the Relationship Between Molecular Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide Abundances in Molecular Clouds
• Molecular cloud evolution. I. Molecular cloud and thin CNM sheet formation
• Clump morphology and evolution in MHD simulations of molecular cloud formation
• Dispersal of molecular clouds by ionising radiation
• From the warm magnetized atomic medium to molecular clouds
• ISM properties in hydrodynamic galaxy simulations: Turbulence cascades, cloud formation, role of gravity and feedback
• The Birth of Molecular Clouds: Formation of Atomic Precursors in Colliding Flows
• Molecular Cloud Formation Behind Shock Waves
• Global Dynamical Evolution of the ISM in Star Forming Galaxies - I. High Resolution 3D HD and MHD Simulations: Effect of the Magnetic Field
• Cooling, Gravity and Geometry: Flow-driven Massive Core Formation
• Herschel-SPIRE observations of the Polaris flare : structure of the diffuse interstellar medium at the sub-parsec scale
• The properties of the ISM in disc galaxies with stellar feedback
• Dependence of Interstellar Turbulent Pressure on Supernova Rate
• Vertical structure of a supernova-driven turbulent magnetized ISM
• Dynamical Expansion of Ionization and Dissociation Front around a Massive Star. II. On the Generality of Triggered Star Formation
• The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. XI. Lupus Observed With IRAC and MIPS
• Formation of Turbulent and Magnetized Molecular Clouds via Accretion Flows of HI Clouds
• Radiative Shock-Induced Collapse of Intergalactic Clouds
• Rapid Molecular Cloud and Star Formation: Mechanisms and Movies
• Evolution of clouds in radio galaxy cocoons
• Comments on Inferences of Star Formation Histories and Birthlines
• Formation of Spiral-Arm Spurs and Bound Clouds in Vertically Stratified Galactic Gas Disks
• The Fine-Scale Structure of the neutral Interstellar Medium in nearby Galaxies
• The Superbubble Size Distribution in the Interstellar Medium of Galaxies
• Ionisation-induced star formation I: The collect and collapse model
• On the Hydrodynamic Interaction of Shock Waves with Interstellar Clouds. II. The Effect of Smooth Cloud Boundaries on Cloud Destruction and Cloud Turbulence
• Two-Fluid MHD Simulations of Converging HI Flows in the Interstellar Medium. I: Methodology and Basic Results
• How long does it take to form a molecular cloud?
• Three-Dimensional Simulations of Parker, Magneto-Jeans, and Swing Instabilities in Shearing Galactic Gas Disks
• Star formation in metal-poor gas clouds
• The formation of molecular clouds in spiral galaxies
• Hierarchical Triggering of Star Formation by Superbubbles in W3/W4
• The importance of magnetic-field-oriented thermal conduction in the interaction of SNR shocks with interstellar clouds
• Embedded Stellar Clusters in the W3/W4/W5 Molecular Cloud Complex
• Formation of Cavities, Filaments, and Clumps by the Non-linear Development of Thermal and Gravitational Instabilities in the Interstellar Medium under Stellar Feedback
• Star Formation in Disk Galaxies. II. The Effect of Star Formation and Photoelectric Heating on the Formation and Evolution of Giant Molecular Clouds
• The Magnetohydrodynamics of Shock-Cloud Interaction in Three Dimensions
• Two-Fluid MHD Simulations of Converging Hi Flows in the Interstellar Medium. II: Are Molecular Clouds Generated Directly from Warm Neutral Medium?
• The Galactic Distribution of Large HI Shells
• Superbubbles in magnetized interstellar media --- Blowout or confinement ? ---
• The Vertical Equilibrium of Molecular Gas in the Galactic Disk
• Effects of Magnetic Field Strength and Orientation on Molecular Cloud Formation
• Fragmentation of Shocked Flows: Gravity, Turbulence and Cooling
• HI shells in the outer Milky Way
• Cloud and Star Formation in Disk Galaxy Models with Feedback
• Formation of Cold Filamentary Structure from Wind Blown Superbubbles
• Simulations of spiral galaxies with an active potential: molecular cloud formation and gas dynamics
• Supergiant Shells and Molecular Cloud Formation in the LMC
• The turbulent destruction of clouds - I. A k-epsilon treatment of turbulence in 2D models of adiabatic shock-cloud interactions
• Ionization--induced star formation IV: Triggering in bound clusters
• Dynamical Evolution and Ionization Structure of an Expanding Superbubble: Application to W4
• Does Stellar Feedback Create HI Holes? An HST/VLA Study of Holmberg II
• Ambient Interstellar Pressure and Superbubble Evolution
• Giant Molecular clouds: what are they made from, and how do they get there?
• The Formation of Kiloparsec-Scale HI Holes in Dwarf Galaxies
• The fragmentation of expanding shells I: Limitations of the thin--shell approximation
• Supershells as Molecular Cloud Factories: Parsec Resolution Observations of HI and 12CO(J=1-0) in GSH 287+04-17 and GSH 277+00+36
• The Abundance of Molecular Hydrogen and its Correlation with Midplane Pressure in Galaxies: Non-Equilibrium, Turbulent, Chemical Models
• Super-star clusters versus OB associations
• Environmental Dependencies for Star Formation Triggered by Expanding Shell Collapse
• Local Star formation triggered by SN shocks in magnetized diffuse neutral clouds
• Star formation triggered by SN explosions: an application to the stellar association of $\beta$ Pictoris
• The fragmentation of expanding shells II: Thickness matters
• Two Large HI Shells in the Outer Galaxy near l=279 degrees
• The "Carina Flare" Supershell: Probing the Atomic and Molecular ISM in a Galactic Chimney
• Molecular Clouds in Supershells: A Case Study of Three Objects in the Walls of GSH 287+04-17 and GSH 277+00+36
• Triggered star formation in expanding shells
• Large-Scale CO Maps of the Lupus Molecular Cloud Complex
• Star Formation Around Supergiant Shells in the LMC
• Tails of the Unexpected: The Interaction of an Isothermal Shell with a Cloud
• Catalogue of 12CO(J=1-0) and 13CO(J=1-0) Molecular Clouds in the Carina Flare Supershell
• GSH 006-15+7: A local Galactic supershell featuring transition from HI emission to absorption
• High Altitude Molecular Clouds
• An Infrared and Radio Study of the Galactic Worm GW46.4+5.5

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Star formation near the Sun is driven by expansion of the Local Bubble
• The Per-Tau Shell: A Giant Star-Forming Spherical Shell Revealed by 3D Dust Observations
• The role of magnetic fields in the structure and interaction of supershells
• Starburst Driven Galactic Superbubbles Radiating to 10 K
• Calibrating the HISA temperature: Measuring the temperature of the Riegel-Crutcher cloud
• A Young GMC Formed at the Interface of Two Colliding Supershells: Observations Meet Simulations
• Dense Molecular Clumps associated with the LMC Supergiant Shells LMC 4 \& LMC 5
• Squeezed between shells? On the origin of the Lupus I molecular cloud. APEX/LABOCA, Herschel, and Planck observations
• Integral Field spectroscopy of two HI rich E+A galaxies
• A panoptic view of the Taurus molecular cloud I. The cloud dynamics revealed by gas emission and 3D dust
• A CO Funnel in the Galactic Centre: Molecular Counterpart of the Northern Galactic Chimney?
• Properties of star formation of the Large Magellanic Cloud as probed by young stellar objects