Related papers: Six Myths on the Virial Theorem for Interstellar C…
The virial theorem is considered for a system of randomly moving particles that are tightly bound to each other by the gravitational and electromagnetic fields, acceleration field and pressure field. The kinetic energy of the particles of…
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…
Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass from the surrounding cloud material. This process is investigated, using numerical models of self-gravitating molecular cloud…
We present arguments indicating that galaxies and their clusters should be considered as open developing systems. Galaxies interact with the intergalactic medium and are not in a virial equilibrium (which is determined by the gravity and…
In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of two layers of immiscible, inviscid, incompressible, and irrotational fluids through a full nonlinear system. Our goal is to establish a virial theorem and prove the polynomial growth of slope and…
We present a comprehensive study of MHD waves and instabilities in a weakly ionised system, e.g., an interstellar molecular cloud. We determine all the critical wavelengths of perturbations across which the sustainable wave modes can change…
Observations of magnetic field strengths imply that molecular cloud fragments are individually close to being in a magnetically critical state, even though both magnetic field and column density measurements range over two orders of…
We derive a version of the virial theorem that is applicable to diatomic planetary atmospheres that are in approximate thermal equilibrium at moderate temperatures and pressures and are sufficiently thin such that the gravitational…
This review summarizes the argument for molecular clouds being dominated by turbulence, most likely super-Alfvenic turbulence. Five lines of observational evidence are given: molecular linewidths and line shapes, nonequilibrium chemical…
The formation of astrophysical structures, such as stars, compact objects but also galaxies, entail an,enhancement of densities by many orders of magnitude which occurs through gravitational collapse. The role played by turbulence during…
Whether or not molecular clouds and embedded cloud fragments are stable against collapse is of utmost importance for the study of the star formation process. Only "supercritical" cloud fragments are able to collapse and form stars. The…
I present an overview of the hierarchy of structures existing in the interstellar medium (ISM) and the possible mechanisms that cause the fragmentation of one level into the next, with the formation of stars as its last step. Within this…
An overview is presented of the main properties of the interstellar medium. Evidence is summarized that the interstellar medium is highly turbulent, driven on different length scales by various energetic processes. Large-scale turbulence…
A theory of clustering of inertial particles advected by a turbulent velocity field caused by an instability of their spatial distribution is suggested. The reason for the clustering instability is a combined effect of the particles inertia…
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…
The dynamics of massive clumps, the environment where massive stars originate, is still unclear. Many theories predict that these regions are in a state of near-virial equilibrium, or near energy equi-partition, while others predict that…
Recently reported variations in the typical physical properties of Galactic and extra-Galactic molecular clouds (MCs), and in their ability to form stars have been attributed to local variations in the magnitude of interstellar pressure.…
We discuss the results of high-resolution (~0.1-0.2 pc) BIMA CO observations of the central regions of 3 molecular clouds in the far-outer Galaxy (FOG). We identify clumps and investigate their stability by using the virial theorem,…
CMZoom survey observations with the Submillimeter Array are analyzed to describe the virial equilibrium (VE) and star-forming potential of 755 clumps in 22 clouds in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. In each cloud, nearly…
When dark matter structures form and equilibrate they have to release a significant amount of energy in order to obey the virial theorem. Since dark matter is believed to be unable to radiate, this implies that some of the accreted dark…