Related papers: Gravity or Turbulence? The velocity dispersion-siz…
The velocity distribution of a fluidized dilute granular gas in the direction perpendicular to the gravitational field is investigated by means of Molecular Dynamics simulations. The results indicate that the velocity distribution can be…
It has been recently shown that molecular clouds do not exhibit a unique shape for the column density probability distribution function (Npdf). Instead, clouds without star formation seem to possess a lognormal distribution, while clouds…
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…
The evolution of molecular clouds in galactic centres is thought to differ from that in galactic discs due to a significant influence of the external gravitational potential. We present a set of numerical simulations of molecular clouds…
We discuss constraints on the rates of stirring and dissipation of MHD turbulence in molecular clouds. Recent MHD simulations suggest that turbulence in clouds decays rapidly, thus providing a significant source of energy input,…
[Abridged] We present an analysis of the relation between the masses of cluster- and group-sized halos, extracted from $\Lambda$CDM cosmological N-body and hydrodynamic simulations, and their velocity dispersions, at different redshifts…
We examine the physical parameters that affect the accumulation of gas in molecular clouds to high column densities where the formation of stars takes place. In particular, we analyze the dense gas mass fraction (DGMF) in a set of…
Supersonic turbulence is an essential element in understanding how structure within interstellar gas is created and shaped. In the context of star formation, many computational studies show that the mass spectrum of density and velocity…
Star clusters are known to be formed in turbulent molecular clouds. How turbulence is driven in molecular clouds and what effect this has on star formation is still unclear. We compare a simulation setup with turbulent driving everywhere in…
Evaporation of cloud droplets accelerates when turbulence mixes dry air into the cloud, affecting droplet-size distributions in atmospheric clouds, combustion sprays, and jets of exhaled droplets. The challenge is to model local…
We review the properties of turbulent molecular clouds (MCs), focusing on the physical processes that influence star formation (SF). MC formation appears to occur during large-scale compression of the diffuse ISM driven by supernovae,…
We present high resolution ($1024^3$) simulations of super-/hyper-sonic isothermal hydrodynamic turbulence inside an interstellar molecular cloud (resolving scales of typically 20 -- 100 AU), including a multi-disperse population of dust…
This two-part review summarizes interstellar turbulence and its implications. The first part begins with diagnostics and energy sources. Turbulence theory is considered in detail, including the basic fluid equations, solenoidal and…
Flows in natural bodies of fluid often become turbulent, with eddy-like motions dominated by inertial-vortex forces. Buoyancy, Coriolis, viscous, self-gravitational, electromagnetic, and other force constraints produce a complex phase space…
In this work, we investigate the properties of a population of cool clouds in simulated galaxy outflows. Using data from the CGOLS isolated galaxy simulations, we generate catalogues of $\sim 10^5$ clouds. We describe the impact of two…
Understanding the dynamics of material objects advected by turbulent flows is a long standing question in fluid dynamics. In this perspective article we focus on the characterization of the statistical properties of non-interacting…
(Abridged) The formation of molecular clouds (MCs) from the diffuse interstellar gas appears to be a necessary step for star formation, as young stars invariably occur within them. However, the mechanisms controlling the formation of MCs…
A fundamental property of molecular clouds is that they are turbulent, but how this turbulence is generated and maintained is unknown. One possibility is that stars forming within the cloud regenerate turbulence via their outflows, winds…
The fragmentation of gas to form stars in molecular clouds is intrinsically linked to the turbulence within them. These internal motions are set at the birth of the cloud and may vary with galactic environment and as the cloud evolves. In…
Giant molecular clouds contain supersonic turbulence and simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence show that these supersonic motions decay in roughly a crossing time, which is less than the estimated lifetimes of molecular clouds. Such…