Massive Stars Don’t Make Good Neighbors

Big stars are bullies. When one dies, it does so spectacularly, exploding in a supernova with energy output equal to that of the Sun over its entire lifetime. However, a massive star’s mischief starts much sooner. As it is born, it can steal gas from its neighbors. During its life, its strong radiation and winds plow through the neighborhood, wreaking havoc and disrupting the births of other stars. Is this feedback enough to explain why we see such a small fraction of the gas in stellar nurseries ending up in stars? New analysis using simulations investigates the details.

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