Related papers: Evolving Molecular Cloud Structure and the Column …
Both observational and theoretical research over the past decade has demonstrated that the probability distribution function (PDF) of the gas density in turbulent molecular clouds is a key ingredient for understanding star formation. It has…
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…
Aims: We derive the probability density functions (PDFs) of column density for a complete sample of prominent molecular cloud complexes closer than 200 pc. Methods: We derive near-infrared dust extinction maps for 23 molecular cloud…
In this Letter we investigate the shape of the probability distribution of column densities (PDF) in molecular clouds. Through the use of low-noise, extinction-calibrated \textit{Herschel}/\textit{Planck} emission data for eight molecular…
The density distribution within molecular clouds offers critical insights into their underlying physical processes, which are essential for understanding star formation. As a statistical measure of column density on the cloud scale, the…
The probability distribution function of column density (PDF) has become the tool of choice for cloud structure analysis and star formation studies. Its simplicity is attractive, and the PDF could offer access to cloud physical parameters…
The formation of stars is inextricably linked to the structure of their parental molecular clouds. Here we take a number of nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and analyse their column density and mass distributions. This investigation is…
Recent observations of column densities in molecular clouds find lognormal distributions with power-law high-density tails. These results are often interpreted as indications that supersonic turbulence dominates the dynamics of the observed…
The probability distribution function (PDF) of the mass surface density is an essential characteristic of the structure of molecular clouds or the interstellar medium in general. Observations of the PDF of molecular clouds indicate a…
Using self-gravitational hydrodynamical numerical simulations, we investigated the evolution of high-density turbulent molecular clouds swept by a colliding flow. The interaction of shock waves due to turbulence produces networks of thin…
The probability distribution function (PDF) of the mass surface density of molecular clouds provides essential information about the structure of molecular cloud gas and condensed structures out of which stars may form. In general, the PDF…
Simulations generally show that non-self-gravitating clouds have a lognormal column density ($\Sigma$) probability distribution function (PDF), while self-gravitating clouds with active star formation develop a distinct power-law tail at…
(Abridged) We discuss the probability distribution function (PDF) of column density resulting from density fields with lognormal PDFs, applicable to isothermal gas (e.g., probably molecular clouds). We suggest that a ``decorrelation…
Column-density maps of molecular clouds are one of the most important observables in the context of molecular cloud- and star-formation (SF) studies. With the Herschel satellite it is now possible to determine the column density from dust…
The one-point statistics of column density distributions of turbulent molecular cloud models are investigated and compared with observations. In agreement with the observations, the number N of pixels with surface density S is distributed…
A key parameter to the description of all star formation processes is the density structure of the gas. In this letter, we make use of probability distribution functions (PDFs) of Herschel column density maps of Orion B, Aquila, and…
Column density (N) PDFs serve as a powerful tool to characterize the physical processes that influence the structure of molecular clouds. Star-forming clouds can best be characterized by lognormal PDFs for the lower N range and a power-law…
We present the first study of the relationship between the column density distribution of molecular clouds within nearby Galactic spiral arms and their evolutionary status as measured from their stellar content. We analyze a sample of 195…
The shape of the probability distribution function (PDF) of molecular clouds is an important ingredient for modern theories of star formation and turbulence. Recently, several studies have pointed out observational difficulties with…
This paper gives a new way to diagnose the star-forming potential of a molecular cloud region from the probability density function of its column density (N-pdf). It gives expressions for the column density and mass profiles of a symmetric…