The molecular cloud lifecycle

Abstract

Giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and their stellar offspring are the building blocks of galaxies. The physical characteristics of GMCs and their evolution are tightly connected to galaxy evolution. The macroscopic properties of the interstellar medium propagate into the properties of GMCs condensing out of it, with correlations between e.g. the galactic and GMC scale gas pressures, surface densities and volume densities. That way, the galactic environment sets the initial conditions for star formation within GMCs. After the onset of massive star formation, stellar feedback from e.g. photoionisation, stellar winds, and supernovae eventually contributes to dispersing the parent cloud, depositing energy, momentum and metals into the surrounding medium, thereby changing the properties of galaxies. This cycling of matter between gas and stars, governed by star formation and feedback, is therefore a major driver of galaxy evolution. Much of the recent debate has focused on the durations of the various evolutionary phases that constitute this cycle in galaxies, and what these can teach us about the physical mechanisms driving the cycle. We review results from observational, theoretical, and numerical work to build a dynamical picture of the evolutionary lifecycle of GMC evolution, star formation, and feedback in galaxies.

52 pages, 7 figures. To appear in Space Science Reviews (submitted February 1, 2020; accepted April 8, 2020), topical collection Star formation

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