Overview
- Nominated as an outstanding thesis by Peking University
- Presents the latest high angular resolution observational studies using the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Very Large Array (VLA)
- Presents the discovery of a common hierarchical fragmentation in three infrared dark clouds
- Proposes a new scenario for the formation of massive star clusters
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Springer Theses (Springer Theses)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This thesis presents an in-depth, high-resolution observational study on the very beginning of the formation process: the fragmentation of dense molecular clouds known as infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Very Large Array (VLA) radio interferometers, the author has discovered a common picture of hierarchical fragmentation that challenges some of the leading theoretical models and suggests a new, observation-driven understanding of how massive star formation in clustered environments may begin: it is initiated by the hierarchical fragmentation of a dense filament from 10 pc down to 0.01 pc, and the stellar mass buildup is simultaneously fed by hierarchical accretion at similar scales. The new scenario points out the importance of turbulence and filamentary structure, which are now receiving increasing attention and further tests from both observers and theorists.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Dr. Ke Wang is currently a research fellow at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) headquarters in Garching, Germany, with functional work at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). He received his Ph.D degree in astrophysics from Peking University in 2012. Most of his thesis work was carried out at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, USA, during a pre-doctoral fellowship with duty at the Submillimeter Array (SMA). In 2011, he was awarded a European Union grant to conduct his first postdoctoral research at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in Groningen, the Netherlands. Afterwards, he joined ESO in October 2012. He is an enthusiastic astronomer with expertise in radio interferometers, a frequent user of world class telescopes including the SMA and the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA), now an ALMA astronomer on duty. His main research interest is the early phase of massive star formation, from Planck cold cores, infrared dark clouds to interstellar filaments.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Earliest Stages of Massive Clustered Star Formation: Fragmentation of Infrared Dark Clouds
Authors: Ke Wang
Series Title: Springer Theses
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44969-1
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-662-44968-4Published: 17 November 2014
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-662-52428-2Published: 11 August 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-3-662-44969-1Published: 03 November 2014
Series ISSN: 2190-5053
Series E-ISSN: 2190-5061
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 145
Number of Illustrations: 14 b/w illustrations, 23 illustrations in colour
Topics: Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Atmospheric Sciences, Microwaves, RF and Optical Engineering