On the Thermal Instability in a Contracting Gas Cloud and Formation of a Bound Cluster
Abstract
We perform linear analysis of thermal instability in a contracting large cloud filled with warm HI gas and investigate the effect of metallicity and radiation flux. When the cloud reaches critical density nf, the cloud fragments into cool, dense condensations because of thermal instability. For a lower metallicity gas cloud, the value of nf is high. Collision between condensations will produce self-gravitating clumps and stars thereafter. From the result of calculation, we suggest that high star formation efficiency and bound cluster formation are realized in low-metallicity and/or strong-radiation environments.
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