The thermal pressure distribution of a simulated cold neutral medium

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/38· OSTI ID:22356496

Gazol, Adriana ^[1]

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1. Centro de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, UNAM, A. P. 3-72, c.p. 58089 Morelia, Michoacán (Mexico)

We numerically study the thermal pressure distribution in a gas with thermal properties similar to those of the cold neutral interstellar gas by analyzing three-dimensional hydrodynamic models in boxes with sides of 100 pc with turbulent compressible forcing at 50 pc and different Mach numbers. We find that at high pressures and for large Mach numbers, both the volume-weighted and the density-weighted distributions can be appropriately described by a log-normal distribution, whereas for small Mach numbers they are better described by a power law. Thermal pressure distributions resulting from similar simulations but with self-gravity differ only for low Mach numbers; in this case, they develop a high pressure tail.

• OSTI ID: 22356496
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 789, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DENSITY
DISTRIBUTION
GRAVITATION
HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL
HYDRODYNAMICS
INSTABILITY
MACH NUMBER
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TURBULENCE