About
My Research
My research is devoted to the study of the early stages of star formation in molecular clouds. Using different radioastronomical techniques at (sub-)mm wavelengths, I investigate the gas dynamics inside these objects and its connection with the formation of dense cores and stars. During the last years, I majored on the study of large-scale surveys of clouds, filaments, and cores combining both continuum and molecular line observations. Starting from the study of low-mass star-forming clouds like Taurus, I am extending now this work to more massive environments in regions like Orion or the more distant IRDCs.
Four main questions drive my research:
Which physical processes control the formation of stars in molecular clouds?
How does the transition between diffuse and dense gas occur inside clouds?
What is the internal structure of low- and high-mass filaments?Â
Is the star formation process universal?
Scientific highlights
PI of the ERC Starting Grant EMERGE project (project webpage)
Leader of the "Interstellar Medium Astrophysics" group (webpage)
Streaming motions along filaments (Hacar & Tafalla 2011)
Bundles of fibers in B213-L1495 (Hacar et al 2013)
Stellar motions as fossil record of the gas kinematic structure (Hacar et al 2016)
Evidence of fibers in the Orion Integral Filament (Hacar et al 2018)
3 Accepted ALMA Cycle 3, 4, & 6 proposals as PI (ALMA portal)
PI of the ORION-4D project (link)