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SUMMARY:The Galactic Centre: a template for understanding star formation a
 nd feedback in a high-pressure environment - Steve Longmore (LJMU)
DTSTART:20180301T160000Z
DTEND:20180301T170000Z
UID:TALK98338@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:28811
DESCRIPTION:The unknown physics of star formation and feedback represent t
 he\nmain bottleneck in connecting the observable galaxy population to cold
  dark matter cosmology. Both physical processes are expected to vary stron
 gly with galactic environment and across cosmic history. I will discuss re
 cent progress in understanding the physics of star formation and feedback 
 in the inner few hundred pc of the Milky Way — the Central Molecular Zon
 e (CMZ) — an environment with gas properties very similar to those in st
 arbursts and high-z galaxies\, in which most stars in the Universe formed.
  Within our lifetime\, the CMZ is the only such environment for which it w
 ill be possible to simultaneously resolve the gas properties down to the s
 ize scales of individual (forming) stars\, while also tracing galactic-sca
 le processes\, making it a critical benchmark for studies of star and plan
 et formation\, feedback\, and the interstellar medium across cosmic time. 
 I will focus on recent work seeking to explain a puzzling observational pa
 radox: the vast majority of gas in the CMZ is underproducing stars by 1-2 
 orders of magnitude compared to empirical star formation relations and the
 oretical predictions\, and yet at the same time a very small fraction of t
 he gas is producing the most violent star formation events in the Galaxy. 
 I will discuss the implications of these findings for environmentally (in)
 dependent star and planet formation relations/theories and the environment
  into which supernovae explode. I will finish by outlining the details of 
 a model linking the emerging\, multi-scale picture of star formation and f
 eedback to a more general understanding of the mass flows and energy cycle
 s in (extra) galactic nuclei.
LOCATION:Sackler Lecture Theatre\, IoA (tea at 3:30 pm)
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