Interstellar shock studies: the SOFIA/GREAT contribution

Abstract

Shocks are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium of galaxies, where they contribute to the energetic balance and to the cycle of matter, and where they are thought to be the primary sites for cosmic rays acceleration. Most of the time: in jets and outflows, supernova remnants, or colliding flows, they are linked with star formation. The study of shocks is hence a powerful tool to probe the evolution of the interstellar medium and to better understand star formation. To these aims, the most precise observations must be compared with the most precise models of shocks. The SOFIA/GREAT instrument represents a powerful observational tool to support our progresses, as it allows to observe numerous shock tracers in the far-infrared range.

4 pages, 3 figures, The 6th Zermatt ISM Symposium, Conditions and Impact of Star Formation, From Lab to Space; Zermatt, Switzerland, 2015, September 7-11; In memory of Charles H. Townes

References in corpus (4)

• Low-velocity shocks traced by extended SiO emission along the W43 ridges: witnessing the formation of young massive clusters
• The W43-MM1 mini-starburst ridge, a test for star formation efficiency models
• Large scale IRAM 30m CO-observations in the giant molecular cloud complex W43
• Impacts of pure shocks in the BHR71 bipolar outflow