A Scheme for Star Formation — Molecules, Cores, Filaments, and Psychology

Great progresses have been made in observing ISM and star formation. Largely enabled by bolometers and heterodyne arrays with growing capabilities, the morphology, chemistry, and dynamics of Galactic gas and dust are being revealed from scales of spiral arms down to dense cores. Many classical questions, however, remains unsolved. What is the origin of IMF? Where does the turbulence go? Why do we believe in self-similar collapse (Shu model)?
I will very briefly exam the current observational foundations regarding these questions. I will also introduce from my group several papers with, hopefully, some contributions to their eventual answers.