The big problems in star formation: The star formation rate, stellar clustering, and the initial mass function. Krumholz, M. R. Physics Reports, 539:49–134, June, 2014.
The big problems in star formation: The star formation rate, stellar clustering, and the initial mass function [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
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 questions 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.
@article{krumholz_big_2014,
	title = {The big problems in star formation: {The} star formation rate, stellar clustering, and the initial mass function},
	volume = {539},
	issn = {0370-1573},
	shorttitle = {The big problems in star formation},
	url = {http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014PhR...539...49K},
	doi = {10.1016/j.physrep.2014.02.001},
	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 questions 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.},
	urldate = {2020-05-20},
	journal = {Physics Reports},
	author = {Krumholz, Mark R.},
	month = jun,
	year = {2014},
	keywords = {Galaxies: star formation, ISM: clouds, ISM: molecules, Stars: formation, Stars: luminosity function, Turbulence, mass function},
	pages = {49--134},
}

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