Congratulations to Laura Posch!

Congratulations to Laura Posch!

It’s not diamonds, but stellar chains in the skies

New stars are born throughout the Universe — yet understanding exactly how this happens remains one of the biggest questions in astrophysics. Massive stars, more than eight times the mass of our Sun, play a key role in this process. They shape their surroundings through powerful stellar winds and spectacular supernova explosions, which can compress nearby molecular clouds and trigger the birth of new stars. Whether this triggered star formation* plays a major role in shaping stellar populations has long been debated.

The Scorpius–Centaurus OB association (Sco–Cen) is the nearest region of recent massive star formation to Earth. In her PhD thesis, “Cluster chains: Feedback-driven dynamics in the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association,” Laura Posch explored this region using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission. Her analysis revealed chains of young star clusters extending outward from the association’s center, showing clear patterns in position, velocity, age, and mass. These gradients suggest that feedback from massive stars propels surrounding molecular clouds and sequentially sparks the formation of new clusters along their paths.

By modeling the motion of these clusters, Laura and her collaborators were able to quantify their acceleration — a continuous process likely driven by several feedback mechanisms working together. Remarkably, the study indicates that up to 40% of stars in Sco–Cen may have formed through triggered star formation. These findings provide some of the clearest observational evidence yet for feedback-driven, sequential star formation in our Galactic neighborhood.

Reflecting on her experience as a PhD student at the University of Vienna’s Institute of Astrophysics, Laura says:  

I feel fortunate to have pursued my PhD within such an inspiring and supportive research group, and I greatly value the collegial and welcoming environment at the Institute of Astrophysics throughout my studies.