Related papers: From the warm magnetized atomic medium to molecula…
Complex turbulent motions of magnetized gas are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. The source of this turbulence, however, is still poorly understood. Previous work suggests that compression caused by supernova shockwaves, gravity, or…
Formation of interstellar clouds as a consequence of thermal instability is studied using two-dimensional two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider the situation of converging, supersonic flows of warm neutral medium in the…
We study the formation of giant dense cloud complexes and of stars within them by means of SPH numerical simulations of the mildly supersonic collision of gas streams (``inflows'') in the warm neutral medium (WNM). The resulting…
We discuss molecular cloud formation by large-scale supersonic compressions in the diffuse warm neutral medium (WNM). Initially, a shocked layer forms, and within it, a thin cold layer. An analytical model and high-resolution 1D simulations…
Using 3D MHD simulation with the effects of radiative cooling/heating, chemical reactions, and thermal conduction, we investigate the formation of molecular cloud in the ISM. We consider the formation of molecular cloud by accretion of the…
I describe the scenario of molecular cloud (MC) evolution that has emerged over the past decade or so. MCs can start out as cold atomic clouds formed by compressive motions in the warm neutral medium (WNM) of galaxies. Such motions can be…
We investigate giant molecular cloud (GMCs) collisions and their ability to induce gravitational instability and thus star formation. This mechanism may be a major driver of star formation activity in galactic disks. We carry out a series…
Two dimensional compressible magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations run for 20 crossing times on a 800x640 grid with two stable thermal states show persistent hierarchical density structures and Kolmogorov turbulent motions in the…
(Abridged). In this paper, we present results from a large set of numerical simulations that demonstrate that H2 formation occurs rapidly in turbulent gas. Starting with purely atomic hydrogen, large quantities of molecular hydrogen can be…
To understand the formation of a magnetically dominated molecular cloud out of an atomic cloud, we follow the dynamical evolution of the cloud with a time-dependent axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic code. A thermally stable warm atomic cloud…
We have computed line emission cooling rates for the main cooling species in models of interstellar molecular clouds. The models are based on numerical simulations of super-sonic magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. Non-LTE radiative…
The MHD version of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, MG, has been employed to study the interaction of thermal instability, magnetic fields and gravity through 3D simulations of the formation of collapsing cold clumps on the scale of…
We review recent results from numerical simulations and related models of MHD turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds. We discuss the implications of turbulence for the processes of cloud formation and evolution,…
We examine the idea that diffuse and giant molecular clouds and their substructure form as density fluctuations induced by large scale interstellar turbulence. We do this by investigating the topology of various fields in realistic…
We propose that inward, subsonic flows arise from the local dissipation of turbulent motions in molecular clouds. Such "turbulent cooling flows" may account for recent observations of spatially extended inward motions towards dense cores.…
In order to understand the origin of observed molecular cloud properties, it is critical to understand how clouds interact with their environments during their formation, growth, and collapse. It has been suggested that accretion-driven…
We investigate the formation of molecular clouds from atomic gas by using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations,including non-equilibrium chemical reactions, heating/cooling processes, and self-gravity by changing the…
It has long been suggested that shocks might play an important role in altering the form of the interstellar medium (ISM). Shocks enhance gas density and sufficiently dense regions may become self gravitating. Potential star forming clouds…
Molecular clouds (MCs) are stellar nurseries, however, formation of stars within MCs depends on the ambient physical conditions. MCs, over a free-fall time are exposed to numerous dynamical phenomena, of which, the interaction with a thin,…
We have investigated the possibility of molecular cloud formation via the Collision-induced Magnetic Reconnection (CMR) mechanism of the cold neutral medium (CNM). Two atomic gas clouds with conditions typical of the CNM were set to collide…