THE MILKY WAY AS A STAR FORMATION ENGINE
S. Molinari (INAF-IAPS, Rome, Italy),
J. Bally (University of Colorado, Boulder, United States),
J.-P. Bernard (IRAP, Toulouse, France),
S. Glover (Heidelberg University, ITA, Germany),
P. Martin (University of Toronto, Canada),
T. Moore (Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom),
A. Noriega-Crespo (IPAC-Caltech, Pasadena, United States),
R. Plume (University of Calgary, Canada),
L. Testi (ESO-HQ, Garching, Germany),
E. Vazquez-Semadeni (UNAM, Morelia, Mexico),
A. Zavagno (LAM, Marseille, France)
We review and discuss the latest observational scenario globally emerging from the latest generation
of continuum and spectroscopic global-scale surveys of the mid-plane of the Galaxy from infrared to
radio wavelengths, in terms of cloud formation and evolution, star and clump formation rate and efficiency
throughout the Galaxy, evidence for density thresholds for the formation of protocluster-forming
clumps, as well as the role of large-scale filamentary structures in channeling diffuse ISM into gravitationally
bound clumps. The new view of the Milky Way thus assembled will be discussed in the context
of competing theoretical frameworks distinguishing between "slow" and "fast" formation, outlining some
of the challenges that this body of evidence poses to a variety of theoretical scenarios for large-scale
star formation.
We will review the most recent methods and evolutionary indicators used to classify the star
formation activity in molecular clumps, comparing the different possible derivations of the local SFR
and discussing its variation as a function of Galactocentric radius. The order-of-magnitude increase in
the number of sources (mostly clumps) that are revealed in state-of-the-art infrared and submillimeter
Galaxy-wide surveys make such studies possible with an unprecedented statistical significance.
We will also review the present status of our understanding of the Galaxy as a global star
formation engine in the context of similar studies in extragalactic systems, evaluating how the data on
our own Galaxy compare with the proposed global star formation laws that relate properties of the interstellar
medium to the star formation rate.
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