Self-sustaining star formation fronts in filaments during cosmic dawn
  We propose a new model for the ignition of star formation in low-mass halos
by a self-sustaining shock front in cosmic filaments at high redshifts. The
gaseous fuel for star formation resides in low mass halos which can not cool on
their own due to their primordial composition and low virial temperatures. We
show that star formation can be triggered in these filaments by a passing shock
wave. The shells swept-up by the shock cool and fragment into cold clumps that
form massive stars via thermal instability on a timescale shorter than the
front's dynamical timescale. The shock, in turn, is self-sustained by energy
injection from supernova explosions. The star formation front is analogous to a
detonation wave, which drives exothermic reactions powering the shock. We find
that sustained star formation would typically propel the front to a speed of
$\sim 300-700\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ during the epoch of reionization. Future
observations by the $\textit{James Webb Space Telescope}$ could reveal the
illuminated regions of cosmic filaments, and constrain the initial mass
function of stars in them.
