The Effect of Shock-wave Duration on Star Formation and the Initial Condition of Massive Cluster Formation

Stars are born in dense molecular filaments irrespective of their mass. Compression of the interstellar medium by shocks causes filament formation in molecular clouds. Observations show that a massive star cluster formation occurs where the peak of gas column density in a cloud exceeds 10(23) cm(-2). In this study, we investigate the effect of the shock-compressed layer duration on filament/star formation and how the initial conditions of massive star formation are realized by performing three-dimensional isothermal magnetohydrodynamics simulations with gas inflow duration from the boundaries (i.e., shock-wave duration) as a controlling parameter. Filaments formed behind the shock expand after the duration time for short-shock-duration models, whereas long-duration models lead to star formation by forming massive supercritical filaments. Moreover, when the shock duration is longer than two postshock freefall times, the peak column density of the compressed layer exceeds 10(23) cm(-2), and the gravitational collapse of the layer causes the number of OB stars expected to be formed in the shock-compressed layer to reach the order of 10 (i.e., massive cluster formation).

Automated summary

Stars are born in dense molecular filaments, regardless of their mass. The compression of the interstellar medium by shocks leads to the formation of filaments in molecular clouds. This study investigates the impact of the duration of the shock-compressed layer on filament and star formation, and how the initial conditions for massive star formation are realized. The results show that different shock durations lead to different outcomes, with short durations resulting in expanding filaments and long durations leading to the formation of massive supercritical filaments and star clusters.