Research

What kind of specific questions can be asked, addressed, and perhaps answered? 

• What fraction of star-forming clouds are or are not candidates for having been compressed at bubble surfaces, and/or at bubble intersections?

• What fraction of star-forming gas features cannot be clearly associated with structures at least an order-of-magntidue larger than they are? (How much "free-floating" dense gas is there in the local ISM?)

• What sources of feedback (stellar winds, supernovae, etc.) are most relevant on what spatial and temoral scales?

• Can we use information about cluster populations and ages to constrain the bulk motions and expansions of feedback-driven cavities?

• How do "young stars leave home"? What fraction of stars drift away, at what speed, or do clouds "dissolve" first? How often might young stars drift from one star-forming cloud to another?

• Are the topological characterizations of the spatial distribution of interstellar gas  (in)/consistent with any particular numerical simulation(s)?

• How well can data, simulations, or both constrain the history of star formaiton in a given region? Over what time scale?  For example, over what spatial or temporal scale is it possible to typically associate a star cluster with a gas cavity? 

• Are there clear relationships between the properties of gas and stars and their position or motion with respect to significant Galactic structures, such as the mid-plane or large-scale features, including spiral arms?

• What are the dominant mechanisms shaping molecular cloud formation and destruction? 

• How are these mechanisms related to clouds’ physical properties and the larger-scale galactic environments?

• What is the relationship between interstellar cavities and the distribution of OB associations, supernova remnants, and HII regions?

• Do we observe evidence for triggered star formation at the surfaces of these cavities? 

• What role does Galactic structure play in star formation? Are spiral arm-like structures in the Milky Way quasi-stationary or transient features? Do these arm-like structures violently induce shocks or gently accumulate gas? If the former, what role do spiral shocks play in star formation?