The Role of Radiation Pressure in Assembling Super Star Clusters
Abstract
Super star clusters are the most extreme star-forming regions of the Universe - they occupy the most massive end of the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, forming stars at exceptionally high rates and gas surface densities. The radiation feedback from the dense population of massive stars is expected to play a dynamic role during the assembly of the clusters, and represents a potential mechanism for launching large-scale galactic outflows. Observationally, large distances and dust obscuration have been withholding clues about the early stages of massive cluster formation; theoretically, the lack of accurate and efficient radiation transfer schemes in multi-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations has been deterring our understanding of radiative feedback. By extending the adaptive mesh refinement code FLASH with a closure-free, Monte Carlo radiation transport scheme, we perform 3D radiation hydrodynamical simulations of super star cluster formation from the collapse of turbulent molecular clouds. Our simulations probe the star formation in densities typical for starbursts, with both non-ionizing UV and dust-reprocessed IR radiation treated self-consistently. We aim to determine the role of radiation pressure in regulating star formation, and its capacity in driving intense outflows.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #228
- Pub Date:
- June 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AAS...22831910T