A Toomre-like stability criterion for the clumpy and turbulent interstellar medium
(2010) In Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 407(2). p.1223-1230- Abstract
We explore the gravitational instability of clumpy and turbulent gas discs, taking into account the Larson-type scaling laws observed in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and H i, as well as more general scaling relations. This degree of freedom is of special interest in view of the coming high-z interstellar medium surveys and is thus potentially important for understanding the dynamical effects of turbulence at all epochs of galaxy evolution. Our analysis shows that turbulence has a deep impact on the gravitational instability of the disc. It excites a rich variety of stability regimes, several of which have no classical counterpart. Among other diagnostics, we provide two useful tools for observers and simulators: (1) the stability map... (More)
We explore the gravitational instability of clumpy and turbulent gas discs, taking into account the Larson-type scaling laws observed in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and H i, as well as more general scaling relations. This degree of freedom is of special interest in view of the coming high-z interstellar medium surveys and is thus potentially important for understanding the dynamical effects of turbulence at all epochs of galaxy evolution. Our analysis shows that turbulence has a deep impact on the gravitational instability of the disc. It excites a rich variety of stability regimes, several of which have no classical counterpart. Among other diagnostics, we provide two useful tools for observers and simulators: (1) the stability map of turbulence, which illustrates our stability scenario and relates it to the phenomenology of interstellar turbulence: GMC/H i observations, simulations and models; (2) a Toomre-like stability criterion, , which applies to a large class of clumpy/turbulent discs. We make specific predictions about GMC and cold-H i turbulence and point out the implications of our analysis for high-z galaxy surveys.
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- author
- Romeo, Alessandro B. ; Burkert, Andreas and Agertz, Oscar LU
- publishing date
- 2010-09-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Galaxies: ISM, Instabilities, ISM: general, ISM: kinematics and dynamics, ISM: structure, Turbulence
- in
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- volume
- 407
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 8 pages
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:77956409558
- ISSN
- 0035-8711
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16975.x
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- cfe1e0f3-adca-45f2-bea2-41d996180098
- date added to LUP
- 2019-02-07 11:23:42
- date last changed
- 2022-01-31 17:27:17
@article{cfe1e0f3-adca-45f2-bea2-41d996180098,
abstract = {{<p>We explore the gravitational instability of clumpy and turbulent gas discs, taking into account the Larson-type scaling laws observed in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and H i, as well as more general scaling relations. This degree of freedom is of special interest in view of the coming high-z interstellar medium surveys and is thus potentially important for understanding the dynamical effects of turbulence at all epochs of galaxy evolution. Our analysis shows that turbulence has a deep impact on the gravitational instability of the disc. It excites a rich variety of stability regimes, several of which have no classical counterpart. Among other diagnostics, we provide two useful tools for observers and simulators: (1) the stability map of turbulence, which illustrates our stability scenario and relates it to the phenomenology of interstellar turbulence: GMC/H i observations, simulations and models; (2) a Toomre-like stability criterion, , which applies to a large class of clumpy/turbulent discs. We make specific predictions about GMC and cold-H i turbulence and point out the implications of our analysis for high-z galaxy surveys.</p>}},
author = {{Romeo, Alessandro B. and Burkert, Andreas and Agertz, Oscar}},
issn = {{0035-8711}},
keywords = {{Galaxies: ISM; Instabilities; ISM: general; ISM: kinematics and dynamics; ISM: structure; Turbulence}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{1223--1230}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}},
title = {{A Toomre-like stability criterion for the clumpy and turbulent interstellar medium}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16975.x}},
doi = {{10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16975.x}},
volume = {{407}},
year = {{2010}},
}