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The Milky Way's central molecular zone (CMZ) has emerged in recent years as aunique laboratory for the study of star formation. Here we use the simulationspresented in Tress et al. 2020 to investigate star formation in the CMZ. Thesesimulations resolve the structure of the interstellar medium at sub-parsecresolution while also including the large-scale flow in which the CMZ isembedded. Our main findings are as follows. (1) While most of the starformation happens in the CMZ ring at $R\gtrsim100 {\, \rm pc}$, a significantamount also occurs closer to SgrA* at $R \lesssim 10{\, \rm pc}$. (2) Most ofthe star formation in the CMZ happens downstream of the apocentres, consistentwith the "pearls-on-a-string" scenario, and in contrast to the notion that anabsolute evolutionary timeline of star formation is triggered by pericentrepassage. (3) Within the timescale of our simulations ($\sim100$ Myr), thedepletion time of the CMZ is constant within a factor of $\sim2$. This suggeststhat variations in the star formation rate are primarily driven by variationsin the mass of the CMZ, caused for example by AGN feedback orexternally-induced changes in the bar-driven inflow rate, and not by variationsin the depletion time. (4) We study the trajectories of newly born stars in oursimulations. We find several examples that have age and 3D velocity compatiblewith those of the Arches and Quintuplet clusters. Our simulations suggest thatthese prominent clusters originated near the collision sites where thebar-driven inflow accretes onto the CMZ, at symmetrical locations with respectto the Galactic centre, and that they have already decoupled from the gas inwhich they were born.

Simulations of the Milky Way's central molecular zone -- II. Star formation