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Seminars

Star Formation – The state of the art and CUHK approach

Speaker Prof. Huabai LI
Affiliation The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Date June 20, 2023 (Tuesday)
Time 9:30 a.m.
Venue Room 522, 5/F, Chong Yuet Ming Physics Building, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

The mystery of star formation continues to deepen as research advancements lead to more open questions. For example, why can only a small fraction of galactic mass be converted to stars? Why do newly born stellar clusters share an almost universal mass spectrum? As we remain far from the entire picture, I will first review some puzzle pieces collected from the stellar nursery (molecular clouds) -- supersonic turbulence, ordered magnetic fields, and a power-law relationship between B-field strength and cloud density. Following that, recent efforts to put these pieces together using magnetohydrodynamic simulations will be presented, resolving a decades-old conundrum about the fragmentation of magnetized clouds. Motivated by the above observations and simulations, HKU and CUHK are building a magnetic-field camera to be installed on the Greenland Telescope. The talk will end with a brief introduction to ROGer (Remote Observing from Greenland).

Anyone interested is welcome to attend.