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Collisions Between High Latitude Clouds: Theory Meets Observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

J.C. Lattanzio
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Italy
E.R. Keto
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Italy

Extract

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We report on fully three-dimensional hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations of collisions between high latitude clouds. Our model uses the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code described by Lattanzio and Henriksen (1988) to compute the velocity, temperature, and density fields in the impacted clouds and a recently developed radiative transfer code to compute 13 CO line radiation from the simulated source. By including the instrumental effects involved in a particular observations we can make detailed comparisons with the observations. The model shows that: 1) The previously unexplained energy source for the broad CO line wings reported by Blitz, Magnani, and Wandel (1988) derives from the collisions. 2) Collisions can induce rapid gravitational collapse and star formation in these clouds which are otherwise supported against gravitational contraction via their internal energy content. 3) The external pressure due to intercloud HI, firts proposed for these objects by Keto and Myers (1986), plays a significant role in the stability and evolution of the high latitude clouds.

Type
VI. Interstellar Matter at High Galactic Latitudes
Copyright
Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1989