On the scale height of the molecular gas disc in Milky Way-like galaxies

ABSTRACT We study the relationship between the scale height of the molecular gas disc and the turbulent velocity dispersion of the molecular interstellar medium within a simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy in the moving-mesh code arepo. We find that the vertical distribution of molecular gas can be described by a Gaussian function with a uniform scale height of ∼50 pc. We investigate whether this scale height is consistent …