Bibcode
Casuso, E.; Beckman, J. E.
Bibliographical reference
Pathways Through an Eclectic Universe ASP Conference Series, Vol. 390, proceedings of the conference held 23-27 April, 2007 at Santiago del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. Edited by J. H. Knapen, T. J. Mahoney, and A. Vazdekis San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2008., p.108
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6
2008
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We present here a simple approach to understanding the gas cloud mass
distribution function by simulating formation and destruction of gas
clouds and gas clumps in the interstellar medium. We include as relevant
processes coagulation to form bigger clouds, as well as disruption by
collisions and the removal of gas by collapse to form stars. We evolve
initial sets of pre-existing gas clumps with a range of initial
distribution functions (flat, Gaussian, fractal) for their physical
parameters, and with different geometrical forms (spherical or
elongated) for the individual clouds, and constrain them within an
imaginary box representing gravitational bounding, applying the
kinematic laws of non-elastic collisions. The results agree well with
observations of the mass distribution function of Galactic giant gas
clouds, notably if we choose a Gaussian for the initial distribution
function, and initial gas clouds which are quasi-spherical.