Related papers: Fractal Structure of Molecular Clouds
We investigate the velocity structure of nebular gas in the central galaxies of four clusters: Abell 1835, PKS 0745-191, Abell 262, and RXJ0820.9+0752, using data from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). Velocity structure functions (VSFs)…
Describing how the properties of the interstellar medium combine across size-scales is crucial for understanding star formation scaling laws and connecting Galactic and extragalactic data of molecular clouds. We describe how the statistical…
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,…
We explore whether observed molecular clouds could include a substantial population of unbound clouds. Using simulations which include only turbulence and gravity, we are able to match observed relations and naturally reproduce the observed…
The Gould Belt (GB) is a system of gas and young, bright stars distributed along a plane that is inclined with respect to the main plane of the Milky Way. Observational evidence suggests that the GB is our closest star formation complex,…
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…
The isothermal gravitational collapse and fragmentation of a region within a molecular cloud and the subsequent formation of a protostellar cluster is investigated numerically. The clump mass spectrum which forms during the fragmentation…
We compute the structure function scaling of the integrated intensity images of two J=1-0 13CO maps of Taurus and Perseus. The scaling exponents of the structure functions follow the velocity scaling of supersonic turbulence, suggesting…
We present a catalogue of molecular cloud cores drawn from high latitude, medium opacity clouds, using the all-sky IRAS Sky Survey Atlas (ISSA) images at 60 and 100~$\mu$m. The typical column densities of the cores are $ N(H_2)\sim 3.8…
We present a self-consistent hydrodynamical simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy, at the resolution of 0.05 pc. The model includes star formation and a new implementation of stellar feedback through photo-ionization, radiative pressure and…
We present an analysis of the large-scale molecular cloud structure and of the stability of clumpy structures in nearby molecular clouds. In our recent work, we identified a structural transition in molecular clouds by studying the…
The morphologies of planetary nebulae are believed to be self-organized configurations. These configurations are modeled by three-dimensional temporally self-similar magnetohydrodynamic solutions with radial flow, under the gravitational…
In order to understand how molecular clouds form in the Galactic interstellar medium, we would like to be able to map the structure and kinematics of the gas flows responsible for forming them. However, doing so is observationally…
Recent observations of molecular clouds around rich massive star clusters including NGC3603, Westerlund 2, and M20 revealed that the formation of massive stars could be triggered by a cloud-cloud collision. By using three-dimensional,…
The formation of molecular clouds out of HI gas is the first step toward star formation. Its metallicity dependence plays a key role to determine star formation through the cosmic history. Previous theoretical studies with detailed chemical…
We develop a theory for filamentary molecular clouds including the effects of ordered magnetic fields, and external pressure. We first derive a form of the virial equation appropriate for filamentary clouds. By comparing with observational…
Massive stars influence their parental molecular cloud, and it has long been suspected that the development of hydrodynamical instabilities can compress or fragment the cloud. Identifying such instabilities has proved difficult. It has been…
The most recent observational evidence seems to indicate that giant molecular clouds are predominantly gravitationally unbound objects. In this paper we show that this is a natural consequence of a scenario in which cloud-cloud collisions…
We analyze surveys of molecular cloud structures defined by tracers ranging from CO $J = 1-0$ through $^{13}$CO $J = 1-0$ to dust emission together with NH$_3$ data. The mean value of the virial parameter and the fraction of mass in bound…
We summarize the current status of the turbulent model of star formation in turbulent molecular clouds. In this model, clouds, clumps and cores form a hierarchy of nested density fluctuations caused by the turbulence, and either collapse or…