Study reveals one of universe's secret ingredients for life

A new study led by The Australian National University (ANU) has investigated the nature of a cosmic phenomenon that slows down star formation, which helps to ensure the universe is a place where life can emerge.

Lead researcher Dr. Roland Crocker from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics said the research team studied a particular way stars provide a counter-pressure to gravity that slows down the star-formation process.

"If star formation happened rapidly, all stars would be bound together in massive clusters, where the intense radiation and supernova explosions would likely sterilize all the planetary systems, preventing the emergence of life," he said.

"The conditions in these massive star clusters would possibly even prevent planets from forming in the first place."

The study found that ultraviolet and optical light from young and massive stars spreads out into the gas from which the stars have recently formed and hits cosmic dust, which then scatters infrared light that acts effectively as a kind of pressure that pushes against gravity.

"The phenomenon we studied occurs in galaxies and star clusters where there's a lot of dusty gas that is forming heaps of stars relatively quickly," Dr. Crocker said.

"In galaxies forming stars more slowly - such as the Milky Way - other processes are slowing things down. The Milky Way forms two new stars every year, on average."

Other galaxies in our vicinity and elsewhere in the universe continuously form new stars at a relatively slow and steady rate.

Dr. Crocker said the study's mathematical findings indicated the phenomenon set an upper limit on how quickly stars can form in a galaxy or giant gas cloud.

"This and other forms of feedback help to keep the universe alive and vibrant," he said.

"We are investigating other ways stars might feed back into their environment to slow down the overall rate of star formation."

Professor Mark Krumholz and Dr. Dougal Mackey from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Professor Todd Thompson from Ohio State University in the United States and Associate Professor Holger Baumgardt at the University of Queensland contributed to the study, which was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Research Report: "Radiation Pressure Limits on the Star Formation Efficiency and Surface Density of Compact Stellar Systems," Roland M. Crocker et al., 2018 Oct. 1, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Related Links
ANU Experts
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Scientific research will help to understand the origin of life in the universe
Samara, Russia (SPX) Oct 22, 2018
Until now, in the scientific community there has been the prevailing view that thermal processes associated exclusively with the combustion and high-temperature processing of organic raw materials such as oil, coal, wood, garbage, food, tobacco underpin the formation of PAHs. However, the scientists from Samara University, together with their colleagues from the University of Hawaii, Florida International University, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory proved that the chemical synthesis of P ... read more