Related papers: The Effect of Magnetic Fields and Ambipolar Diffus…
The column density probability distribution function (N-PDF) of GMCs has been used as a diagnostic of star formation. Simulations and analytic predictions have suggested the N-PDF is composed of a low density lognormal component and a high…
We extend our earlier work on ambipolar diffusion induced formation of protostellar cores in isothermal sheet-like magnetic interstellar clouds, by studying nonaxisymmetric collapse for the physically interesting regime of magnetically…
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…
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…
The probability density function (PDF) of the logarithmic density contrast, $s=\ln (\rho/\rho_0)$, with gas density $\rho$ and mean density $\rho_0$, for hydrodynamical supersonic turbulence is well-known to have significant non-Gaussian…
We analyse column density and temperature maps derived from Herschel dust continuum observations of a sample of massive infrared dark clouds (G11.11-0.12, G18.82-0.28, G28.37+0.07, G28.53-0.25). We disentangle the velocity structure of the…
The molecular component of the Galaxy is comprised of turbulent, magnetized clouds, many of which are self-gravitating and form stars. To understand how these clouds' evolution may depend on their level of turbulence, mean magnetization,…
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 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…
We present a study of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a weakly ionised, multifluid MHD plasma with parameters matching those of a typical molecular cloud. The instability is capable of transforming well-ordered flows into disordered…
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…
Under ideal MHD conditions the magnetic field strength should be correlated with density in the interstellar medium (ISM). However, observations indicate that this correlation is weak. Ambipolar diffusion can decrease the flux-to-mass ratio…
We aim to understand the formation of dense cores by magnetosonic waves in regions where the thermal to magnetic pressure ratio is small. Because of the low-ionisation fraction in molecular clouds, neutral and charged particles are weakly…
We formulate the problem of the formation and collapse of nonaxisymmetric protostellar cores in weakly ionized, self-gravitating, magnetic molecular clouds. In our formulation, molecular clouds are approximated as isothermal, thin (but with…
Molecular clouds exhibit lognormal probability density functions (PDF) of mass densities, which are thought to arise as a consequence of isothermal, supersonic turbulence. Star formation is then widely assumed to occur in perturbations in…
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…
Previous treatments of ambipolar diffusion in star-forming molecular clouds do not consider the effects of fluctuations in the fluid fields about their mean values. This paper generalizes the ambipolar diffusion problem in molecular cloud…
The magnetic field strength in molecular clouds is a fundamental quantity for theories of star formation. It is estimated by Zeeman splitting measurements in a few dense molecular cores, but its volume--averaged value within large molecular…
Recent observational evidence that magnetic fields are dynamically important in molecular clouds, compared to self-gravity and turbulence, is reviewed and illustrated with data from the NGC 2024 region. One piece of evidence, turbulence…
We develop an unconditionally stable numerical method for solving the coupling between two fluids (frictional forces/heatings, ionization, and recombination), and investigate the dynamical condensation process of thermally unstable gas that…