Star formation drives galaxy evolution and shapes cosmic structure. Most stars form in clusters, while key questions persist about how young stellar clusters (YSCs) are assembled. Observations show that dense gas in molecular clouds is organised into hub-filament structures (HFS), with filaments converging at central hubs where high-mass star formation occurs. This challenges traditional spherical models of star-forming regions, suggesting that a cylindrical geometry better represents star-forming structures. This project seeks to advance this emerging paradigm by studying how YSCs arise from HFSs, examining the physical origins of YSC properties, such as the initial mass function (IMF) and the mechanisms that control cluster size and age distribution.

The research focuses on four key questions:

1. Does the IMF arise solely from stars forming in the hub, or does it also incorporate stars forming along filaments? To address this, we will map a complete census of young stellar objects (YSOs) in HFSs, and generate IMFs in nested regions around the hub, allowing comparisons with standard YSC IMFs.

2. Do YSOs disperse to the field from their original filament positions, or do they migrate toward the hub due to gravitational forces? By analysing YSO positions and spacings along filaments, we aim to determine if their distribution patterns reflect global gravitational collapse or steady-state material flow.

3. What determines the YSC size, and can we model its radius based on fundamental HFS properties? Radial density profiles of YSOs will be compared to hub gas density and velocity data, using precise kinematic boundaries rather than background density as cluster limits.

4. How do stellar age distributions correlate with HFS evolution? YSOs within and outside dense filament regions will be compared to uncover age patterns, assessing the impacts of star formation history and massive star feedback.

Extensive public archival data from Herschel, Spitzer, UKIDSS, Pan-STARRS, CFHT, and high-resolution ALMA observations provide a robust dataset for tracing YSOs and gas dynamics, with additional JWST data proposed. Modelling the stellar spectral energy distributions from the near- and mid-infrared data will identify YSOs in a range of masses and ages across the HFS, supporting a full IMF analysis. Properties of the cold dust and gas constituting the HFS will be traced using Herschel, IRAM 30m and ALMA data.

This research is among the first to integrate gas kinematics with YSO distributions to model star formation within an HFS. The results are expected to lead to 2-3 high-impact publications, with findings disseminated at conferences and in a planned IAU symposium. This project not only pushes the boundaries of current star formation models but also establishes the groundwork for multiple PhD projects. These insights will not only unify low- and high-mass star formation theories but also impact broader models of galaxy evolution and star formation physics.