Event details

Date
June 14, 2027  – June 19, 2027
Location
Haus Sexten - Via Dolomiti 45, 39030, Sexten

Scientific Rationale

Galaxies are the building blocks of our Universe, and star-forming clouds are the building blocks of galaxies. The process of star formation has occurred numerous times since the Big Bang, transforming a Universe made of diffuse gas into a complex environment made of hierarchies of stellar systems and gaseous filaments, from the Mpc scales of galaxy groups and clusters down to sub-parsec scales where stars and planets are still forming now. Studying the relationship between the star formation rate (SFR) and the physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM) is the foundation for understanding galaxy evolution. Gaseous and stellar structures in today’s galaxies, such as spiral arms and bars, together with feedback from massive stars are shaping the ISM into a network of gas phases which feeds the densest collapsing clumps leading to the formation of stars. Since 1959, the evidence of a tight connection between SFR and gas densities in galaxies has stimulated a lasting observational and theoretical effort to understand how galaxy properties can regulate the physics of star formation and the rate of stellar birth. Today, high spatial resolution observations, theoretical modelling and state-of-the-art numerical simulations make it possible to analyze in detail the physical aspects of star formation over many orders of magnitude in spatial scale and across different environments, from massive spiral galaxies to isolated gas rich dwarfs and intergalactic clouds. The aim of this International Conference is to gather the extragalactic community to discuss the state of the art of these topics, linking the evolution of galaxies to their environment and ability to turn gas into stars, for understanding the Cosmos.

Thanks to progress in high resolution imaging and spectroscopic analysis, linking star formation to gas, stellar and dynamic properties, and to different environments has recently become possible. In the last decade multiwavelengths observations have provided excellent datasets to trace young stellar clusters, the rate of star formation, dust and gas conditions in nearby galaxies with high sensitivity and spatial resolution. However, which of the many gas phases, – neutral, diffuse molecular or dense molecular or their combined properties, – is more closely related to the SFR is still an open question. The community does not yet agree on whether the answer depends on the SF tracer, spatial scale or on other galaxy host properties. Direct measurement of molecular gas emission in the faintest nearby galaxies is still a challenge and one of future observational and theoretical goals. The conference will feature discussions on the latest observational data from prominent telescopes, including ALMA and JWST, HST, MeerKat and ngVLA, alongside numerical simulations and theoretical models. This will offer a comprehensive view of the field and a future perspective on future instruments such as SKA, ELT and ALMA2040.

Theory and numerical simulations still suffer from the absence of a predictive model of star formation. There are numerous disagreements on fundamental parameters that drive star formation, be those the free-fall time in molecular clouds, the process of cloud formation through gravitational instability and/or the large scale environment which feeds the galaxy. Magnetic fields and turbulence are known to regulate star formation in gas clouds, but their origin and their impact on the SFR and efficiency are still debated. Numerical simulations suggest a galaxy-cosmic web connection that implies that star formation on small scales is linked to the galactic environment on large scales through cosmic gas accretion which regulates galaxy growth. This picture however still awaits observational confirmation because detection of cosmic accretion is still very difficult.

The Scientific Programme will focus on the following topics:

Galaxy environment: role of environment on the global scaling laws; the circumgalactic medium in relation to gas accretion and ejection from galaxies; hierarchy of gas phases from the cosmic web to molecular clouds in external galaxies

Zooming into the star formation in local galaxies: local scaling relations and possible dependencies on galactic and local environment, on dust and chemical abundances; star formation under extreme conditions

From star factories to stellar associations: extragalactic young stellar clusters and associations; links with gas distribution; feedback from massive stars, both at the local and galaxy scale.

Organizers

SOC:
Daniela Calzetti (Co-chair, UMass, USA)
Edvige Corbelli (Co-chair, OAA-INAF, Italy)
Alberto Bolatto (U. Maryland, USA,)
Frederic Bournaud (CEA, France)
Bruce Elmegreen (USA)
Leslie Hunt (OAA-INAF, Italy)
Ralf Klessen (U. Heidelberg, Germany)
Paolo Serra (OAC-INAF, Italy)

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Payment details

Registration Fee
300 Eur
Workshop code for bus and payment
HSG27