Stability of gas clouds near quasi-stellar objects

Details Stability of gas clouds near quasi-stellar objects Stability of gas clouds near quasi-stellar objects

Jul 1976

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976apj...207..351m&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, vol. 207, July 15, 1976, pt. 1, p. 351-358.

Computer Science

Sound

24

Dynamic Stability, Interstellar Gas, Quasars, Radiative Transfer, Acceleration (Physics), Gas Density, Lyman Alpha Radiation, Optical Thickness, Sound Propagation

Scientific paper

The stability of accelerating quasar clouds to radiation-driven sound waves of growing amplitude is analyzed. It is shown that isothermal optically thin clouds are accelerated in an almost perfectly coherent manner by absorption in the Lyman continuum, leading to a very nearly constant density in the (unperturbed) cloud structure for small drag forces. However, it is found that under certain conditions, density compressions in sound waves of infinitesimal amplitude can be preferentially accelerated and enhanced by the same large radiative forces which accelerate the clouds as a whole. This radiation-driven instability could develop into strong shocks which may result in violent cloud heating or disruption as the amplified waves become nonlinear. The analysis indicates that only accelerating quasar clouds are unstable to growing-amplitude sound waves, but the growth rate is too small to be effective for most clouds of interest. The influence of emission-line radiation pressure in quasar clouds is discussed, and it is concluded that the line pressure in Ly-alpha and other resonance lines is dynamically unimportant in most quasar clouds, although it tends to promote cloud stability.

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