Related papers: Gravity Versus Magnetic Fields in Forming Molecula…
(Abridged) We present a series of decaying turbulence simulations that represent a cluster-forming clump within a molecular cloud, investigating the role of magnetic fields on the formation of potential star-forming cores. We present an…
We formulate the problem of the formation and subsequent evolution of fragments (or cores) in magnetically-supported, self-gravitating molecular clouds in two spatial dimensions. The six-fluid (neutrals, electrons, molecular and atomic…
We use deep adaptive mesh refinement simulations of isothermal self-gravitating supersonic turbulence to study the imprints of gravity on the mass density distribution in molecular clouds. The simulations show that the density distribution…
Simulations from the scales of isolated galaxies to clouds have been instrumental in informing us about molecular cloud formation and evolution. Simulations are able to investigate the roles of gravity, feedback, turbulence, heating and…
We discuss evolution of the magnetic flux density and angular velocity in a molecular cloud core, on the basis of three-dimensional numerical simulations, in which a rotating magnetized cloud fragments and collapses to form a very dense…
Several lines of evidence suggest that protogalactic and galactic environments manage to grow magnetic field very rapidly. This makes the theoretical problem of achieving rapid growth of magnetic fields in such environments difficult.…
The observed rapid onset of star formation in molecular clouds requires rapid formation of dense fragments which can collapse individually before being overtaken by global gravitationally-driven flows. Many previous investigations have…
Stars form within molecular clouds but our understanding of this fundamental process remains hampered by the complexity of the physics that drives their evolution. We review our observational and theoretical knowledge of molecular clouds…
We present an analysis of the relationship between the orientation of magnetic fields and filaments that form in 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of cluster-forming, turbulent molecular cloud clumps. We examine simulated cloud clumps with…
We use numerical simulations of turbulent cluster-forming regions to study the nature of dense filamentary structures in star formation. Using four hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic simulations chosen to match observations, we identify…
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…
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 the dynamical condensation process in a magnetized thermally bistable medium. We perform one-dimensional two fluid numerical simulations that describe the neutral and ionized components in the interstellar medium with purely…
The orientations of filamentary molecular clouds in the Gould Belt and their local ICM (inter-cloud media) magnetic fields are studied using near-infrared dust extinction maps and optical stellar polarimetry data. These filamentary clouds…
We have performed Smoothed Particle Magneto-Hydrodynamics (SPMHD) calculations of colliding clouds to investigate the formation of massive stellar clusters, adopting a timestep criterion to prevent large divergence errors. We find that…
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…
Cloud-cloud collisions are expected to trigger star formation by compressing gas into dense, gravitationally unstable regions. However, the role of magnetic fields in this process is unclear. We use SPH to model head-on collisions between…
A model of magnetic field structure is presented to help test the prevalence of flux freezing in star-forming clouds of various shapes, orientations, and degrees of central concentration, and to estimate their magnetic field strength. 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 perform numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the gravitational collapse and fragmentation of a cylindrical molecular cloud with the help of the FLASH code. The cloud collapses rapidly along its radius without any signs of…