Three-Dimensional Dynamical Instabilities in Galactic Ionization Fronts

Ionization front instabilities have long been of interest for their suspected role in a variety of phenomena in the Galaxy, from the formation of bright rims and "elephant trunks" in nebulae to triggered star formation in molecular clouds. Numerical treatments of these instabilities have historically been limited in both dimensionality and input physics, leaving important questions about their true evolution unanswered. We present the first three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical calculations of both R-type (rarefied) and D-type (dense) ionization front instabilities in Galactic environments (i.e., solar-metallicity gas). Consistent with linear stability analyses of planar D-type fronts, our models exhibit many short-wavelength perturbations that grow at early times and later evolve into fewer large-wavelength structures. The simulations demonstrate that both self-consistent radiative transfer and three-dimensional flow introduce significant morphological differences to unstable modes when compared to earlier two-dimensional approximate models. We find that the amplitude of the instabilities in the nonlinear regime is primarily determined by the efficiency of cooling within the shocked neutral shell. Strong radiative cooling leads to long, extended structures with pronounced clumping, while weaker cooling leads to saturated modes that devolve into turbulent flows. These results suggest that expanding H II regions may either promote or provide turbulent support against the formation of later generations of stars, with potential consequences for star formation rates in the Galaxy today.