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Research

Publication list in NASA ADS library.

Recent Highlights:

Massive Star Formation Starts in Sub-virial Dense Clumps Unless Resisted by Strong Magnetic Fields
Ke Wang, Yueluo Wang, Fengwei Xu
2024 ApJL 974, L6

The Formation of Milky Way "Bones": Ubiquitous HI Narrow Self-Absorption Associated with CO Emission
Shenglan Sun, Ke Wang, Xunchuan Liu, Fengwei Xu
2024 ApJL 973, L27

The Milky Way Atlas for Linear Filaments 
Ke Wang, Yifei Ge, Tapas Baug
2024 A&A 686, L11

The Milky Way Atlas for Linear Filaments II. Clump Rotation versus Filament Orientation
Xuefang Xu, Ke Wang, et al.
2024, MNRAS, 535, 940

Absence of High-mass Prestellar Cores in the Orion Giant Molecular Cloud
Wenyu Jiao, Ke Wang, Fengwei Xu
2024, AJ, 168, 151

The ALMA Survey of Star Formation and Evolution in Massive Protoclusters with Blue Profiles (ASSEMBLE): Core Growth, Cluster Contraction, and Primordial Mass Segregation 
Fengwei Xu, Ke Wang, et al.
2024 ApJS, 270, 9

Highlights Summary

My research has been highlighted in professional media including Kavli Assembly, NRAO, AAS NOVA, ESA, Harvard CfA, UK Royal Astronomical Society, and public media including Xinhua Net, Guangming Net, ScienceDaily, Space.com, among more than 200 media worldwide. Total views over 10 million. Examples:

 

Research summary

My research primarily focuses on two critical aspects of the ISM ecosystem: star formation and cloud formation. Massive stars play a dominant role in the physical and chemical evolution of galaxies, yet the process of their formation remains a subject of intense debate. Molecular clouds are the sites of star formation, but how do they form from atomic gas is poorly understood. To address these challenges, my group members and I:

(1) Carry out large-scale censuses and characterization of the filamentary structure within the Milky Way ISM, and study their relation with star formation.

(2) Survey hundreds of extremely cold molecular clumps across the inner and outer Galactic plane, obtain high-resolution continuum and spectral images using radio interferometry (including ALMA, JVLA, SMA) to resolve the initial conditions for massive star formation, and to compare with theories.

(3) Combine FAST and MeerKAT to obtain high resolution (both in angular and spectral resolution) HI images at a capability similar to SKA1, compare to molecular line emission, to study the transition from atomic to molecular gas (cloud formation).

We undertake these studies in collaboration with colleagues and friends from around the world, on a number of well-designed research projects described below.

Collaboration

Internationally, I collaborate with astronomers in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and South Africa on a number of projects. Institutes include Harvard CfA, MIT, MPE, MPIA, ESO, NAOJ, University of Cologne, University of Kent, University of Tokyo, among many others.

Projects:

VELLA (PI: Ke Wang): an ALMA survey of 212 very low luminosity-to-mass ratio clumps in the inner and outer Galaxy, to reveal the initial conditions for massive star formation. I wrote the ALMA observing proposals and follow-up proposals with other telescopes, and I am leading the data reduction and analysis with my team (Diego Mardones, Ke Wang, Lei Zhu, Qizhou Zhang, Floris van der Tak, Paola Caselli, Leonardo Testi, Jixing Ge, Natalia Inostroza, Thushara Pillai, Xindi Tang, Dalei Li, Sarolta Zahorecz).

Orion Legacy (PI: Ke Wang, Diego Mardones): my group and colleagues in Chile (including Guido Garay, Ricardo Finger, Natalia Inostroza, Amy Stutz) are collaborating in a China-Chile astronomy project to study the Orion molecular cloud using ALMA legacy data.

CoCoA (PI: Thushara Pillai): Cold cores with ALMA, observed 238 cold clumps in inner Galactic plane. I am leading the ALMA data reduction and several science projects. Team: T. Pillai, J. Urquhart, K. Wang, A. Giannetti, L. Gomez, D. Colombo, S. Leurini, J. Kauffmann, A. Traficante, C. Koenig, Q. Zhang, F. Wyrowski, K. Menten, D. Mardones

ATOMS, QARKS (PI: Tie Liu): ALMA three-millimeter observations of 146 massive star-forming regions. I led the ATOMS data reduction, contributed to the original survey design, and contributed significantly to several papers.

CHANG-ES (PI: Judith Irwin): Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies — an EVLA Survey. I realized spectral line analysis for the EVLA observations originally designed for continuum imaging.

ALMAGAL (PI: Sergio Molinari, Peter Schilke, Cara Battersby, Paul Ho): my PhD student Fengwei Xu is working on part of the data, supervised by Peter Schilke.

ALMA-IMF (PI: Frédérique Motte, Fabien Louvet), ACES (PI: Steven Longmore), MagMar (PI: Patricio Sanhueza): I and my group are members. 

Former projects include: APEX/SEDIGISM, JCMT/SCOPE, Mopra/SuperMALT, SMT/SAMPLING

In China, I have been collaborating with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) institutes and universities.

National Astronomical Observatories, CAS: I collaborate with several groups at NAOC, including

  • Di Li’s group: FAST/CRAFTS survey for its Milky Way HI data
  • Jingwen Wu’s group at NAOC and UCAS: M31 structure, including spiral arm structure, large-scale filaments in HI, molecular emission, and dust
  • Jinzeng Li’s group: filaments; science with the 40m CART - China Argentina Radio Telescope
  • Wenwu Tian's group, Hui Zhu, Lei Qian: SKA science preparation
  • Wei Wang: radio detection of exoplanets

Purple Mountain Observatory, CAS: I collaborate with PMO colleagues including

  • Ji Yang, Xuepeng Chen, Fujun Du: on a NSFC key project on FAST science to study the Milky Way gas structure; using PMO/MWISP survey CO data to study Galactic large-scale filaments.
  • Shengcai Shi, Jing Li, Yiping Ao: science with CSST THz module and XSMT 15m submillimeter telescope  

Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, CAS: I collaborate with SHAO astronomers (including Tie Liu, Xing Lu, Juan Li) on several ALMA and TMRT projects, on early and evolved massive star formation regions.

Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, CAS: I collaborate with XAO colleagues (including Jarken Esimbek’s group, Xiaohu Li’s group, Jianjun Zhou, Xindi Tang, Dalei Li, Yuxin He, Gang Wu, Gixing Ge), on ALMA-VELLA project, astrochemistry, and science with the QTT 110m radio telescope.

My other collaborators are at Nanjing University, University of Science and Technology of China, Xiamen University, Yunnan University, Guangxi University, Chongqing University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.