Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2pzkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T21:08:35.864Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Formation of Giant Molecular Clouds Associated with Spiral Structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

Guoxuan Song
Guoxuan Song*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Observatory, Academia Sinica, PR China
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Molecular hydrogen in spiral galaxies is distributed in clumps, i.e., molecular clouds, which have mass between 103M⊙ and 106M⊙ and a mass spectrum of n(m) ∝ m−1.6. Molecular clouds with masses greater than 105M⊙, are called giant molecular clouds (GMCs). It is generally accepted that GMCs are formed by the coalescence of molecular clouds through their collision. This process is studied by both numerical simulation and numerical integration. The observation with high resolution identified a great number of CO emission cores in galaxies. Based on this result, the aggregation or clustering formation of GMCs is numerically simulated. In the process of either coalescence or clustering, spiral perturbation plays an important role.

Type
Invited
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , 1991 , pp. 200 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, D. S. and Roberts, W. W., 1988, Molecular Clouds in the Milky Way and External Galaxies, Dickman, R. L., Snell, R. L., Young, J. S. (eds), Springer, Berlin, p. 291.Google Scholar
Allen, R.J., Atherton, P. D. and Tilanus, R. P.J., 1986, Nature, 319.Google Scholar
Bhat, C. L., Mayor, C. J. and Wolfendale, A. W., 1986, Phil. Trans. of Royal Soc. of London, A319, 249.Google Scholar
Brahic, A., 1977, Astron. Astrophys., 54, 895.Google Scholar
Casoli, F. and Combes, F., 1982, Astron. Astrophys., 110, 287.Google Scholar
Cleary, M. N., Heiles, C. and Haslam, C. G. J., 1979, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 36, 95.Google Scholar
Clifford, P. and Elmegreen, B. G., 1983, Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc., 202, 629.Google Scholar
Combes, F. and Gerin, M., 1985, Astron. Astrophys., 150, 327.Google Scholar
Fukunaga, M. and Tosa, M., 1989, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 41, 241.Google Scholar
Kwan, J., 1979, Astrophys. J., 229, 567.Google Scholar
Kwan, J. and Valdes, F., 1983, Astrophys. J., 271, 604.Google Scholar
Kwan, J. and Valdes, F., 1987, Astrophys. J., 315, 92.Google Scholar
Lo, K. Y., Ball, R., Masson, C. R., Philips, T. G., Scott, S. L. and Woody, D. R., 1987, Astrophys. J., 317, L63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norman, C. and Silk, J., 1981, IAU Symp. 87, Interstellar Molecules, Andrew, B.H. (ed), Dordrecht, Reidel, p. 137.Google Scholar
Rivolo, A.K., Solomon, P. M. and Sanders, D.B., 1986, Astrophys. J., 301, L19.Google Scholar
Roberts, W. W., and Adler, D. S., 1988, Molecular Clouds in the Milky Way and External Galaxies, Dickman, R. L., Snell, R. L., Young, J. S. (eds), Springer, Berlin, p. 289.Google Scholar
Roberts, W. W. and Hausman, M. A., 1984, Astrophys. J., 277, 744.Google Scholar
Roberts, W. W. and Stewart, G. L., 1987, Astrophys. J., 314, 10.Google Scholar
Sanders, D.B., Solomon, P. M. and Scoville, N.Z., 1984, Astrophys. J., 276, 182.Google Scholar
Sanders, D.B., Clemens, D. P. and Scoville, N. Z., 1985, Astrophys. J., 299, 1080.Google Scholar
Sanders, D.B., Clemens, D. P., Scoville, N. Z. and Solomon, P. M., 1986, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser., 60, 1.Google Scholar
Scoville, N. Z., Sanders, D. B. and Clemens, D. P., 1986, Astrophys. J., 310, L77.Google Scholar
Solomon, P. M., Sanders, D. B. and Rivolo, A. R., 1985, Astrophys. J., 292, L19.Google Scholar
Song, G. X., 1989a, Acta Astrophysik Sinica, 9, 32.Google Scholar
Song, G. X., 1989b, Acta Astronomica Sinica, 30, 149.Google Scholar
Song, G. X. and Kahn, F. D., 1990, to be published.Google Scholar
Taff, L. G. and Savedoff, M. P., 1973, Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc., 164, 357.Google Scholar
Tenorio-Tagle, G., Yorke, H. W. and Bodenheimer, P., 1981, Mechanisms de production d’energie dans le milieu interstellaire, p. 181.Google Scholar
Tomisaka, K., 1984, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 34, 457.Google Scholar
Tomisaka, K., 1986, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 38, 335.Google Scholar