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We present virial models for the global evolution of giant molecular clouds.Focusing on the presence of an accretion flow, and accounting for the amount ofmass, momentum, and energy supplied by accretion and star formation feedback,we are able to follow the growth, evolution, and dispersal of individual giantmolecular clouds. Our model clouds reproduce the scaling relations observed inboth galactic and extragalactic clouds. We find that accretion and starformation contribute contribute roughly equal amounts of turbulent kineticenergy over the lifetime of the cloud. Clouds attain virial equilibrium andgrow in such a way as to maintain roughly constant surface densities, withtypical surface densities of order 50 - 200 Msun pc^-2, in good agreement withobservations of giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way and nearby externalgalaxies. We find that as clouds grow, their velocity dispersion and radiusmust also increase, implying that the linewidth-size relation constitutes anage sequence. Lastly, we compare our models to observations of giant molecularclouds and associated young star clusters in the LMC and find good agreementbetween our model clouds and the observed relationship between H ii regions,young star clusters, and giant molecular clouds.

The Global Evolution of Giant Molecular Clouds II: The Role of Accretion