Focusing magnetohydrodynamic waves as a trigger of star formation

Abstract

Abstract Propagation of fast-mode magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in interstellar space is simulated, and a focusing MHD wave model is proposed for triggered star formation (SF). Waves from an SF region are trapped by nearby molecular clouds and converge onto their focal points, causing implosive compression. Even an isolated cloud suffers from long-distance invasion of waves from remote sources. Echoing SF occurs inside a cloud as well as between clouds. Repetitive refocusing in a filamentary cloud suggests spatial periodicity in SF sites along the filament. The model is applied to the SF regions M 16 and M 17, where MHD waves produced by M 16 are shown to converge onto the focal point of the nearby giant molecular cloud and trigger the SF in M 17.