Related papers: Six Myths on the Virial Theorem for Interstellar C…
The Virial Thoerem is a mathematical expression obtained from the equation of motion for a fluid, which describes the energy budget of particular regions within the flow. This course reviews the basic theory leading to the Virial Theorem,…
We discuss the virial balance of all members of a cloud ensemble in numerical simulations of self-gravitating MHD turbulence. We first discuss the choice of reference frame for evaluating the terms entering the virial theorem (VT),…
The virial ratio between kinetic and gravitational terms provides key insight into the balance of forces that confine a molecular cloud, but the clumpy and filamentary structures of resolved clouds make it difficult to evaluate this ratio…
We re-analyze the data of the BU-FCRAO $^{13}{\rm CO}$ Galactic Ring Survey (GRS) to understand the dynamics of the turbulent molecular interstellar medium. We define molecular clouds by their spatial half-power contours of $^{13}{\rm CO}$…
How does turbulence contribute to the formation and structure of the dense interstellar medium (ISM)? Molecular clouds are dense, high-pressure objects. It is usually argued that gravitational confinement causes the high pressures, and that…
We present results from a virial analysis of fully nonlinear two-dimensional (2D) simulations of the ISM. We discuss the Eulerian Virial Theorem in 2D, and describe preliminary results on the virial budget of clouds in the simulations. The…
The recent paper by Heyer et al (2009) indicates that observations of size, linewidth and column density of interstellar clouds do not agree with simple virial equilibrium (VE) as a balance between gravitational and kinetic energies in the…
Molecular clouds (MC) are the densest and coldest component of the interstellar gas, and the sites of star formation. They are also turbulent and fractal and their masses and sizes span several orders of magnitude. It is also generally…
Cold gas entering the central $1$ to $10^2$ pc of a galaxy fragments and condenses into clouds. The stability of the clouds determines whether they will be turned into stars or can be delivered to the central supermassive black hole (SMBH)…
The gas clouds of the interstellar medium have a fractal structure, the origin of which has generally been thought to lie in turbulence. The energy of turbulence could come from galactic rotation at large-scale, then cascade down to be…
Observational and theoretical evidence suggests that a substantial population of molecular clouds (MCs) appear to be unbound, dominated by turbulent motions. However, these estimations are made typically via the so-called viral parameter…
In order to understand the origin of observed molecular cloud properties, it is critical to understand how clouds interact with their environments during their formation, growth, and collapse. It has been suggested that accretion-driven…
I review recent results derived from numerical simulations of the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM), in particular concerning the nature and formation of turbulent clouds, methods for comparing the structure in simulations and…
We examine the idea that diffuse and giant molecular clouds and their substructure form as density fluctuations induced by large scale interstellar turbulence. We do this by investigating the topology of various fields in realistic…
In the present work we apply virial analysis to the model of self-gravitating turbulent cloud ensembles introduced by Donkov \& Stefanov in two previous papers, clarifying some aspects of turbulence and extending the model to account not…
We discuss HD and MHD compressible turbulence as a cloud-forming and cloud-structuring mechanism in the ISM. Results from a numerical model of the turbulent ISM at large scales suggest that the phase-like appearance of the medium, the…
Since molecular clouds form stars, at least some parts of them must be in a state of collapse. However, there is a long-standing debate as to whether that collapse is local, involving only a small fraction of the cloud mass, or global, with…
In a series of papers we investigate the effect of collisions between turbulent molecular clouds on their structure, evolution and star formation activity. In this paper we look into the role of the clouds' initial virial ratios. Three…
A hydrodynamic model for small acoustic oscillations in a cloud of stars is built, taking into account the self-consistent gravitational field in equilibrium with a non-zero second correlation moment. It is assumed that the momentum flux…
The Very Local Interstellar Medium (VLISM) contains clouds which consist of partially-ionized plasma. These clouds can be effectively diagnosed via high resolution optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy of the absorption lines they form in…