Abstract

The interstellar medium provides a unique laboratory for highly supersonic, driven hydrodynamic turbulence. We propose a theory of such turbulence, test it by numerical simulations, and use the results to explain observational scaling properties of interstellar molecular clouds, the regions where stars are born.

Keywords

Supersonic speedPhysicsMolecular cloudTurbulenceInterstellar mediumInterstellar cloudStarsAstrophysicsScalingAstronomyComputational physicsMechanicsGalaxy

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Publication Info

Year
2002
Type
article
Volume
89
Issue
3
Pages
031102-031102
Citations
85
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Stanislav Boldyrev, Åke Nordlund, Paolo Padoan (2002). Supersonic Turbulence and Structure of Interstellar Molecular Clouds. Physical Review Letters , 89 (3) , 031102-031102. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.89.031102

Identifiers

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.89.031102