Related papers: A Probabilistic Model to Estimate Number Densities…
We have constructed three-dimensional models for the equilibrium abundance of molecular hydrogen within diffuse interstellar clouds of arbitrary geometry that are illuminated by ultraviolet radiation. The position-dependent photo-…
The calculation of the molecular column density from molecular spectral (rotational or ro-vibrational) transition measurements is one of the most basic quantities derived from molecular spectroscopy. Starting from first principles where we…
We analyse extinction maps of nearby Giant Molecular Clouds to forge a link between driving processes of turbulence and modes of star formation. Our investigation focuses on cloud structure in the column density range above the self…
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…
Within ten nearby (d < 450 pc) Gould Belt molecular clouds we evaluate statistically the relative orientation between the magnetic field projected on the plane of sky, inferred from the polarized thermal emission of Galactic dust observed…
We introduce a method for calculating the probability density function (PDF) of a turbulent density field in three dimensions using only information contained in the projected two-dimensional column density field. We test the method by…
We present a method to estimate the total gas column density, dust-to-gas and dust-to-metal ratios of distant galaxies from rest-frame optical spectra. The technique exploits the sensitivity of certain optical lines to changes in depletion…
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…
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…
An important aspect of astrophysical MHD turbulence research is developing diagnostics to connect simulations with the observable universe. Turbulent systems are by definition structurally complex in all fluid variables (density, velocity,…
In this paper, we investigate the extent to which observations of molecular clouds can correctly identify and measure star-forming clumps. We produced a synthetic column density map and a synthetic spectral-line data cube from the simulated…
To understand the formation of stars from clouds of molecular gas, one essentially needs to know two things: What gas collapses, and how long it takes to do so. We address these questions by embedding pseudo-Lagrangian tracer particles in…
We devise a physical model of formation and distribution of molecular gas clouds in galaxies. We use the model to predict the intensities of rotational transition lines of carbon monoxide (CO) and the molecular hydrogen (H$_{\rm 2}$)…
This study is aimed to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular hydrogen distribution in the galaxy M33 by introducing novel methods for generating high angular resolution (18.2$''$, equivalent to 75 pc) column…
We consider from a general point of view the problem of determining the extinction in dense molecular clouds. We use a rigorous statistical approach to characterize the properties of the most widely used optical and infrared techniques,…
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…
A simple analytic model is presented to predict the near-IR H2 fluorescent line intensities emitted by diffuse interstellar clouds with a Plummer density profile. It is applicable to sightlines where (1) the column densities of H and H2…
Molecular clouds (MCs) are the birthplaces of new stars in galaxies. A key component of MCs are photodissociation regions (PDRs), where far-ultraviolet radiation plays a crucial role in determining the gas's physical and chemical state.…
Sub-millimetre dust emission is an important tracer of density N of dense interstellar clouds. One has to combine surface brightness information at different spatial resolutions, and specific methods are needed to derive N at a resolution…
(Abridged) We explore the chemistry of the most abundant C, O, S, and N bearing species in molecular clouds, in the context of the IRAM 30 m Large Programme Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular Clouds (GEMS). In this work, we aim to…