Destruction of interstellar clouds by shock waves

Abstract

We describe briefly the results of two-dimensional simulations of the interaction between a steady planar shock wave and a non-magnetized interstellar cloud. We address particularly the question of how the efficiency of destruction depends on the initial shape of the cloud. For this purpose we consider two cases: a spherical cloud, and a cloud of equal mass and density but with irregular ('fractal') surface. We argue that the 'fractal' clouds lose their integrity faster than spherical clouds do.