Colliding galaxies and the rapid assembly of clouds into proto-super star clusters

Tenorio-Tagle, Guillermo; Pérez, Enrique; Muñoz-Tuñón, C.; Silich, Sergiy; Palouš, Jan
Referencia bibliográfica

Star clusters: basic galactic building blocks throughout time and space, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 266, p. 64-68

Fecha de publicación:
1
2010
Número de autores
5
Número de autores del IAC
1
Número de citas
0
Número de citas referidas
0
Descripción
We present a short summary of several 2D hydrodynamic calculations that suggest that upon the collision of galaxies two physical mechanisms lead to the formation of proto-super star clusters. These are condensation, induced by radiative cooling, and implosion caused by the shocked intercloud medium. Even in the absence of gravity, these lead to storage and compression of the dense cloud component into massive and compact gravitationally unstable condensations. The resulting entities exhibit enhanced surface densities that are several hundred times higher than their initial values. These are here postulated as the cradles of very efficient and rapid star-formation episodes, able to withstand the negative feedback effects associated with star formation, while leading to the formation of massive and compact super star clusters.