Related papers: Turbulence in a self-gravitating molecular cloud c…
Astrophysical fluids, including interstellar and interplanetary medium, are magnetized and turbulent. Their appearance, evolution, and overall properties are determined by the magnetic turbulence that stirs it. We argue that examining…
We review how supersonic turbulence can both prevent and promote the collapse of molecular clouds into stars. First we show that decaying turbulence cannot significantly delay collapse under conditions typical of molecular clouds,…
We present the results of a series of numerical simulations of compressible, self-gravitating hydrodynamic turbulence of cluster-forming clumps in molecular clouds. We examine the role that turbulence has in the formation of gravitationally…
Gravity plays important roles in the evolution of molecular clouds. We present an acceleration mapping method to estimate the acceleration induced by gravitational interactions in molecular clouds based on observational data. We find that…
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…
In this paper, we review some of the properties of dense molecular cloud cores. The results presented here rely on three-dimensional numerical simulations of isothermal, magnetized, turbulent, and self-gravitating molecular clouds (MCs) in…
Turbulence is a prevalent phenomenon in the interstellar medium, and in particular, the environment at the centers of galaxies. For example, detailed observations of the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) revealed that it has a…
Recent observations of hydrostatic structure and virial equilibrium in supersonically turbulent, self-gravitating molecular clouds imply a stability that contrasts with the transcience of turbulent structure. To investigate this…
Momentum deposition by radiation pressure from young, massive stars may help to destroy molecular clouds and unbind stellar clusters by driving large-scale outflows. We extend our previous numerical radiation hydrodynamic study of…
(Abridged) We derive an analytical formula which provides estimates on multiscale gravitational energy distribution using the observed surface density PDF. Our analytical formalism also enables one to convert the observed column density PDF…
Star formation is inefficient. Recent advances in numerical simulations and theoretical models of molecular clouds show that the combined effects of interstellar turbulence, magnetic fields and stellar feedback can explain the low…
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…
Both simulations and observations have shown that turbulence is a pervasive phenomenon in cosmic scenarios, yet it is particularly difficult to model numerically due to its intrinsically multiscale character which demands high resolutions.…
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…
Massive stars form in clusters within self-gravitating molecular clouds. The size scale of these clusters is sufficiently large that non-thermal, or turbulent, motions of the gas must be taken into account when considering their formation.…
The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding…
We discuss the role of turbulence in cloud and star formation, as observed in numerical simulations of the interstellar medium. Turbulent compression at the interfaces of colliding gas streams is responsible for the formation of…
We use ZEUS-MP to perform high resolution, three-dimensional, super-Alfvenic turbulent simulations in order to investigate the role of magnetic fields in self-gravitating core formation within turbulent molecular clouds. Statistical…
In order to investigate the origin of the interstellar turbulence, detailed observations in the CO J=1--0 and 3--2 lines have been carried out in an interacting region of a molecular cloud with an HII region. As a result, several 1,000 to…
Star formation in our Galaxy occurs in molecular clouds that are self-gravitating, highly turbulent, and magnetized. We study the conditions under which cloud cores inherit large-scale magnetic field morphologies and how the field is…