The cycle of star formation across scales: stellar feedback as a source of interstellar turbulence
Sabrina M. Appel
Star formation is a fundamental astrophysical process, influencing phenomena at many different scales. In turn, star formation is driven by a wide range of physical mechanisms: stars form in the cold, dense gas of molecular clouds, and this gas is self-gravitating, turbulent, and magnetized. Newly forming stars then produce stellar feedback in the form of protostellar jets, which alter the properties of the star-forming region and subsequent star formation. As stars progress to the main sequence, they produce radiative feedback and stellar wind feedback, which drastically alter the properties of the interstellar medium. Finally, stars reaching the end of their lives explode as supernovae, which can halt local star formation, form large bubbles in the interstellar medium, and drive interstellar turbulence at large spatial scales and longer time scales. Out of this turbulent interstellar medium, new self-gravitating and turbulent molecular clouds form, collapse, and begin to form another generation of stars. In this talk, I will explore what we know from both observations and simulations about how each of these different feedback mechanisms drive interstellar turbulence - and how this turbulence in turn shapes star formation.
