The Dynamics of the Milky Way: Unveiling the 6D Skeleton of Star Formation in the 2040s

Abstract

The Milky Way (MW) is our unique laboratory to test star formation theories at the level of individual stars, serving as the Rosetta Stone to interpret extragalactic observations. The proposed White Paper focuses on the following key questions regarding the structure and evolution of the MW traced by young stellar populations: Q1. How do large-scale dynamical instabilities, like warps and vertical waves, drive the star formation of the Galactic thin disk? Q2. Do star-forming regions form stochastically, driven by local self-propagating feedback, or are they triggered by a common dynamical process acting on Galactic scales? Do internal feedback loops and external interactions tend to sustain or quench star formation in the MW? Q3. Are the clustered star-forming regions the only environments where stars form, or can stars also form in more diffuse structures such as the stellar strings?