Triggered star formation in expanding shells

Abstract

We discuss fragmentation processes which induce star formation in dense walls of expanding shells. The influence of the energy input, the ISM scale-height and speed of sound in the ambient medium is tested. We formulate the condition for the gravitational fragmentation of expanding shells: if the total surface density of the disc is higher than a certain critical value, shells are unstable. The value of the critical density depends on the energy of the shell and the sound speed in the ISM.