Related papers: Turbulence in the Molecular Interstellar Medium
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…
To study how supernova feedback structures the turbulent interstellar medium, we construct 3D models of vertically stratified gas stirred by discrete supernova explosions, including vertical gravitational field and parametrized heating and…
We investigate turbulent gas motions in spiral galaxies and their importance to star formation in far outer disks, where the column density is typically far below the critical value for spontaneous gravitational collapse. Following the…
The role of supersonic turbulence in structuring the interstellar medium (ISM) remains an unsettled question. Here, this problem is investigated using a newexact law of compressible isothermal hydrodynamic turbulence, which involves…
Turbulence is ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies. The energy source for this turbulence has been much debated with many possible origins proposed. The universality of turbulence, its…
The Interstellar Medium (ISM) is a complex, multi-phase system, where the history of the stars occurs. The processes of birth and death of stars are strongly coupled to the dynamics of the ISM. The observed chaotic and diffusive motions of…
The process of star formation in interstellar molecular clouds is believed to be controlled by driven supersonic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We suggest that in the inertial range such turbulence obeys the Kolmogorov law, while in the…
Velocity statistics is a direct probe of the dynamics of interstellar turbulence. Its observational measurements are very challenging due to the convolution between density and velocity and projection effects. We introduce the projected…
The interstellar medium (ISM) is ubiquitously turbulent across many physically distinct environments within the Galaxy. Turbulence is key in controlling the structure and dynamics of the ISM, regulating star formation, and transporting…
We present a semi-analytic model for the interstellar medium that considers local processes and structures of turbulent star-forming gas. A volume element of the interstellar medium is described as a multiphase system, comprising a cold and…
Recent progress in the understanding of star formation is summarized. A consistent picture is emerging where molecular clouds form with turbulent velocity fields and clumpy substructure, imprinted already during their formation. The clouds…
Lada et al. (1994) have described a method for studying the distribution of dust in dark clouds using infrared imaging surveys. In particular they show that the method provides some information about the structure of the gas (dust) on…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The interstellar medium of the Milky Way is multi-phase, magnetized and turbulent. Turbulence in the interstellar medium produces a global cascade of random gas motions, spanning scales ranging from 100 parsecs to 1000 kilometres.…
We explore the gravitational instability of clumpy and turbulent gas discs, taking into account the Larson-type scaling laws observed in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and HI, as well as more general scaling relations. This degree of freedom…
The density structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) determines where stars form and release energy, momentum, and heavy elements, driving galaxy evolution. Density variations are seeded and amplified by gas motion, but the exact nature…