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| Paper: |
OB stars and the structure of the interstellar medium |
| Volume: |
13, The Formation and Evolution of Star Clusters |
| Page: |
136 |
| Authors: |
Balser, Dana S.; Bania, T. M.; Lyon, John G. |
| Abstract: |
Numerical simulations of the physical effects of OB stars and stellar associations on the ISM have been investigated. These time-dependent numerical models calculate the hydrodynamical and thermal effects produced by H-ionizing radiation from OB stars on an ambient, single-component, gaseous ISM. In 10 exp 7 years an initially homogenous isothermal gas will become highly clumped into complexes of hydrogen clouds. When stars are formed in clouds, star formation appears to propagate sequentially at about 6 km/sec. To analyze the implications these clouds have for star formation, we assume an ISM in which star formation is in a steady state and that the clouds formed by OB stars and associations are the sole stellar progenitors. Under these assumptions, if the birthrate is to be self-consistent then about 7 percent of the collapsing cloud mass must form stars. |
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