The Density Structure of Interstellar Molecular Clouds

Details The Density Structure of Interstellar Molecular Clouds The Density Structure of Interstellar Molecular Clouds

Dec 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999ptep.proc...48s&link_type=abstract

Plasma Turbulence and Energetic Particles in Astrophysics, Proceedings of the International Conference, Cracow (Poland), 5-10 Se

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

2

Scientific paper

Interstellar molecular clouds show structure on all scales, down to the smallest scales observed, corresponding to a few 1000 a.u. or below 1/1000 solar mass. Two approaches have been successfully used to describe the observed, complex structure in a quantitative way. First, in the observed, 3-dimensional spectral line data cubes, coherent structures in the spatial and velocity domain can be identified. These clumps follow a power law mass-spectrum, which, by combining large area, low angular resolution maps and high angular resolution data can be traced over up to more than 4 orders of magnitude in clump mass. Second, the 2-dimensional maps of line integrated intensities have fractal characteristics and are well described as a fractional Brownian motion structure, i.e. having a power-law power spectrum and random phases. These observational results give boundary conditions for any magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence model aimed at explaining the structure of interstellar molecular clouds. The large density contrast in molecular clouds implies the turbulence being highly compressive. The derived structural parameters suggest a 3-dimensional density structure which is surface dominated. This is independently confirmed by the observed line intensity ratios of various specific tracers, which can consistently be explained within the scenario of clumpy, UV-penetrated, molecular clouds.

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