Waves and Instabilities in Turbulent Molecular Clouds

Details Waves and Instabilities in Turbulent Molecular Clouds Waves and Instabilities in Turbulent Molecular Clouds

Aug 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997phdt.........2g&link_type=abstract

Thesis (PHD). THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN , Source DAI-B 58/02, p. 748, Aug 1997, 121 pages.

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We study the linear evolution of small perturbations of self-gravitating, ideal fluid systems, both with and without a uniform magnetic field. We consider wave-like perturbations to nonuniform filamentary and sheet-like hydrostatic equilibria, and assume perfect magnetic flux freezing. The treatment is general, but is primarily motivated by its application to interstellar molecular clouds. Supersonic nonthermal motions are ubiquitous in molecular line emission observations of molecular clouds. We explore the influence of these turbulent motions on both the equilibria and the behavior of the perturbations by adopting an equation of state that is softer than isothermal. We numerically determine the dispersion relation and the form of the perturbations over a wide range of wavelengths. The general form of the dispersion relation is the same for all equations of state considered, for all magnetic field strengths, and for both geometries examined. We demonstrate the existence of a fastest growing mode for the system and study how its characteristics depend on the amount of turbulence and the strength of the magnetic field. Generally, turbulence tends to increase the rate and the length scale of fragmentation. To the contrary, a uniform magnetic field tends to decrease the rate and the length scale of fragmentation. Since the mass per unit length of the isothermal filament is finite, there exists a well defined mass scale of fragmentation, which greatly exceeds the masses of most stars. The mass per unit length of the turbulent filament, however, is infinite. Thus it has no finite fragmentation mass scale. We discuss the implications of these results for star formation in molecular clouds.

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