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The Big Problems in Star Formation: the Star Formation Rate, Stellar Clustering, and the Initial Mass Function

2 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.

2 Pith papers citing it
abstract

Star formation lies at the center of a web of processes that drive cosmic evolution: generation of radiant energy, synthesis of elements, formation of planets, and development of life. Decades of observations have yielded a variety of empirical rules about how it operates, but at present we have no comprehensive, quantitative theory. In this review I discuss the current state of the field of star formation, focusing on three central questions: what controls the rate at which gas in a galaxy converts to stars? What determines how those stars are clustered, and what fraction of the stellar population ends up in gravitationally-bound structures? What determines the stellar initial mass function, and does it vary with star-forming environment? I use these three question as a lens to introduce the basics of star formation, beginning with a review of the observational phenomenology and the basic physical processes. I then review the status of current theories that attempt to solve each of the three problems, pointing out links between them and opportunities for theoretical and numerical work that crosses the scale between them. I conclude with a discussion of prospects for theoretical progress in the coming years.

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2026 2

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representative citing papers

The Accretion Process on Protostars

astro-ph.SR · 2026-05-13 · unverdicted · novelty 2.0

The paper reviews techniques for measuring protostellar accretion, analyzes methodological differences and caveats in comparing observations with simulations, and outlines next steps for a fuller picture.

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Showing 2 of 2 citing papers.

  • Numerical simulations of shock-driven, supersonic turbulence in colliding three-temperature laboratory plasmas physics.plasm-ph · 2026-05-20 · unverdicted · none · ref 39 · internal anchor

    Three-dimensional three-temperature simulations of colliding supersonic plasma flows from irradiated CH mesh targets produce a persistent shocked turbulent mixing layer that evolves toward an isothermal state with anisotropic Reynolds stress and effective Reynolds number around 200.

  • The Accretion Process on Protostars astro-ph.SR · 2026-05-13 · unverdicted · none · ref 125 · internal anchor

    The paper reviews techniques for measuring protostellar accretion, analyzes methodological differences and caveats in comparing observations with simulations, and outlines next steps for a fuller picture.