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D.M. Elmegreen (Vassar College), B.G. Elmegreen (IBM Watson Res. Ctr.)
We have examined the distributions of star-forming regions on scales of 10 to 1000 pc in nine spiral galaxies based on archival Hubble Space Telescope data. The distribution functions for the number of regions versus size can all be fit with the same power law, suggesting a universal fractal dimension of approximately 2.3 for star formation. Fractal models reproduce this result. This fractal dimension for star formation is the same as the dimension for the structure of interstellar gas in our Galaxy and in other galaxies. We infer from this result that stars form in clusters and aggregates as an indirect result of turbulence.