Lifetime of molecular clouds and spiral structure

Details Lifetime of molecular clouds and spiral structure Lifetime of molecular clouds and spiral structure

Sep 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981apj...248l..69h&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters to the Editor, vol. 248, Sept. 1, 1981, p. L69-L72.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

2

Barred Galaxies, Galactic Structure, Interstellar Gas, Molecular Clouds, Cosmic Dust, Density Wave Model, Disk Galaxies, Galactic Evolution, Shock Waves

Scientific paper

The effects of finite lifetimes and varying birthsite distributions on the dynamics of ballistic clouds in a barred galaxy are investigated by combining two-dimensional n-body calculations with numerical gas dynamics. It is found that, regardless of the cloud birthsite distribution, for cloud lifetimes comparable to a galactic rotation period, trailing spiral arms with spurs develop in the distribution of clouds. This result implies that sufficiently long-lived giant molecular clouds need not be born at the locations of density wave shocks in order to produce the spiral structure observed in disk galaxies.

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