Description
In the nearby universe, the process of star formation, deeply embedded in molecular clouds, seems to be remarkably similar regardless of where we look. Perhaps once gravity takes over, this process is insensitive to the conditions under which a given cloud was formed or how it evolved, making star formation effectively universal. Nevertheless, we see growing evidence that the process of formation and evolution of molecular clouds can be heavily influenced by the journey of the gas around their host galaxies. Indeed, the extensive range of galactic dynamics and environments in spiral galaxies like our own, influences the cycle of matter of the interstellar medium, and it is only natural to expect that such processes might then also influence where and how much gas can indeed have the right conditions to form stars. This could potentially also affect the type of stars formed, as well as the speed and efficiency at which star formation occurs, thus challenging the universality of star formation. Here I will present some recent work we have done using numerical simulations of spiral galaxies, as part of the FFOGG project. Our models were developed specifically to mimic a selected sample of nearby spiral galaxies, so that we could compare our findings to existing observations. I will present our preliminary results in the quest of trying to link the physics of what happens on spiral galaxies at kpc scales, to the properties of the molecular clouds that are able to form in these different environments.
