Title: What is the role of filaments in star formation and how are they shaped?

Abstract: Abstract: The filamentary nature of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) plays a fundamental role on the star formation process. Filaments dominate the gas structure inside molecular clouds and promote the formation of stars in them, from low-mass stars formed in isolated filaments to high-mass objects found in hub-filament associations. Still, the origin and evolution of these elongated gas structures are matter of strong debates within the star formation community. During the last decade a large observational effort has been devoted to the identification and characterization of large filament populations in the Milky Way. Using low resolution observations key filament properties such as their radial distribution, mass-per-unit-length, and internal dynamics, have been systematically investigated in nearby, low-mass clouds. Thanks to the unprecedented ALMA sensitivity and resolution, similar studies are nowadays extended to more distant and massive clouds across the Galaxy. These recent observations reveal how previously identified gas clumps show a rich filamentary sub-structure usually creating densely populated networks of filaments. These results are transforming our current models for the formation of low- and, particularly, high-mass stars in the ISM. During my talk I will present some of the latest results on the study of Milky Way filaments in which ALMA made crucial contributions as well as discuss future challenges and avenues for the study of these structures.

The European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) network has recently launched the new virtual talk series "ALMA recounts of Cosmic Conundrums”.  In every talk of this series the invited speaker will present a major astronomical question and then focus on ALMAs contribution to this question, past and future. The aim of the series is to highlight the unparalleled contribution of ALMA to the broader astronomical landscape and to provide an outlook towards the future.

The current schedule is as follows:

If you have any questions contact the European ARC network through the ALMA helpdesk.