How do Supernova Explosions act as external triggers for star formation?

Answer

By sending shockwaves that compress cloud material, increasing local density

When internal cloud conditions are near equilibrium, or the cloud mass is just below the critical Jeans Mass, an external event is often required to initiate the runaway contraction necessary for star birth. A supernova explosion accomplishes this by generating an immense, high-speed shockwave as the star's outer layers expand into space. When this shockwave strikes a nearby molecular cloud, the impact compresses the gas intensely, rapidly increasing the local density. This abrupt compression effectively lowers the local Jeans Mass threshold, pushing the compressed regions past the point where gravity dominates, thus triggering gravitational instability and subsequent collapse.

How do Supernova Explosions act as external triggers for star formation?

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