New Perspectives on the Formation and Early Evolution of Stellar Clusters

We present a collection of works which use and build upon the coupled magnetohydrodynamical, N-body dynamics, and stellar evolution framework Torch. First, we investigate the effects of early-forming massive stars on the star cluster formation and assembly processes. Our findings confirm the current scientific understanding that the energetic and mechanical feedback mechanisms of massive stars are dominant forces dictating the evolution and disruption of star forming regions. We also find that early-forming massive stars are especially capable of stifling the star formation efficiency and halting the hierarchical assembly of stellar subclusters and so determine that the timing of massive star formation is a critical parameter which must be considered in future models. Second, we present VorAMR, a computational tool built off of the framework and integrated into Torch which allows for the transfer of data from AREPO simulations to Torch by interpolating Voronoi mesh data onto an adaptively refined grid. This capability is a first of its kind. We show that Torch simulations using AREPO data as initial conditions after being interpolated by VorAMR evolve nominally. We perform a preliminary analysis of the runs and find that the conversion of gas to stars and locations of star formation are comparable to the original AREPO simulation. We find that our interpolation method results in a conservation error of global quantities of a few percent. VorAMR represents a revolutionary way to define initial conditions of Torch simulations, provides a new avenue of collaboration between research groups using separate numerical frameworks, and is a novel way to visualize Voronoi mesh structure.