A cloud/particle model of the interstellar medium - Galactic spiral structure

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (48) References (41) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS A cloud/particle model of the interstellar medium - Galactic spiral structure Levinson, F. H. ; Roberts, W. W., Jr. Abstract A cloud/particle model for gas flow in galaxies is developed that incorporates cloud-cloud collisions and supernovae as dominant local processes. Cloud-cloud collisions are the main means of dissipation. To counter this dissipation and maintain local dispersion, supernova explosions in the medium administer radial snowplow pushes to all nearby clouds. The causal link between these processes is that cloud-cloud collisions will form stars and that these stars will rapidly become supernovae. The cloud/particle model is tested and used to investigate the gas dynamics and spiral structures in galaxies where these assumptions may be reasonable. Particular attention is given to whether large-scale galactic shock waves, which are thought to underlie the regular well-delineated spiral structure in some galaxies, form and persist in a cloud-supernova dominated interstellar medium; this question is answered in the affirmative. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1981 DOI: 10.1086/158823 Bibcode: 1981ApJ...245..465L Keywords: Galactic Structure; Interstellar Gas; Molecular Clouds; Shock Waves; Spiral Galaxies; Stellar Evolution; Supernovae; Astronomical Models; Disk Galaxies; Gas Density; Gas Flow; Gravitational Effects; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |