Unraveling the labyrinth of star formation with herschel

Abstract

Recent studies of nearby interstellar clouds with the Herschel Space Observatory have provided us with unprecedented images of the initial conditions and early phases of the star formation process. The Herschel images point to the central role of filaments in star formation and to their likely connection to interstellar turbulence. Overall, the Herschel results suggest that it may be possible to understand both the IMF and the global rate of star formation in galaxies by studying the physics of how dense structures (e.g. filaments, cores) form and grow in the ISM of our own Galaxy. Despite an apparent complexity, global star formation may be governed by relatively simple universal laws from filament to galactic scales.