Title: Cosmic Rays in Star Forming Regions

Speaker: Professor Ruizhi Yang (University of Science and Technology of China)

Time: 10:00am, March 9, 2023

Location: 3-302, PMO Xianlin Campus

Abstract: Cosmic Rays (CRs) are one of the most important components of the interstellar medium (ISM) and have a strong interplay with the star formation process. On one hand, CRs determine the ionization and heating in the dense clumps where stars form. On the other hand, the star formation processes are the ultimate energy source for accelerating CRs. In this talk, I will introduce our recent work on the CR content in star forming regions based on gamma-ray observations. We found that CRs can be accelerated to ultra-high energies in these regions, possibly by supernova remnants (SNRs) as well as the stellar wind of young massive stars. We also discovered that low-energy CRs cannot penetrate into the dense clumps, which may alter the initial conditions of star formation and astrochemistry.