Journal article
SHOCK-GENERATED VORTICITY IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM AND THE ORIGIN OF THE STELLAR INITIAL MASS FUNCTION
Abstract
Observations of the interstellar medium (ISM) and molecular clouds suggest these astrophysical flows are strongly turbulent. The main observational evidence for turbulence is the power-law energy spectrum for velocity fluctuations, E(k) ∝ kα, with α ∈ [ − 1.5, − 2.6]. The Kolmogorov scaling exponent, α = −5/3, is typical. At the same time, the observed probability distribution function (PDF) of gas densities in both the ISM as well as in …
Authors
Kevlahan N; Pudritz RE
Journal
The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 702, No. 1, pp. 39–49
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Publication Date
September 1, 2009
DOI
10.1088/0004-637x/702/1/39
ISSN
0004-637X