posted on 2022-03-28, 15:02authored byAndrew Lehmann
Nonthermal linewidths in molecular clouds reveal the presence of highly supersonic turbulence, which inevitably dissipates by a network of shock waves. A multifluid treatment of these shocks is necessitated by low ionization fractions and strong magnetic field gradients.
In this thesis, a two-fluid model of magnetised radiative shocks is developed in which neutrals are heated by ion-neutral friction and cooled by ro-vibrational molecular lines. The structure of fast and slow magnetohydrodynamic shocks are compared at velocities of the order of the Alfvén velocity, appropriate for shocks driven by turbulence. Slow shocks are hotter than fast shocks at the same velocity, and their radiative signatures fit observations of infrared dark clouds in the Milky Way and giant molecular clouds near the Galactic Centre. An algorithm is developed to characterise the shocks in simulations of molecular cloud turbulence. Both fast and slow shocks are present, and the distributions of shock speeds,Alfvénic Mach numbers and preshock conditions are used to produce synthetic emission maps of CO and to predict the volume of shock-heated gas.
Finally, two-fluid dusty gas shocks in protoplanetary discs are considered. Two distinct shock solutions analogous to C- and J-type magnetised shocks are identified and these shocks are ideal benchmarking problems for numerical codes seeking to simulate dusty gas in protoplanetary discs. In addition, a J-type dusty shock is used to model the accretion shock above protoplanetary discs.Two-fluid effects are most important for grains larger than 1 ɥm,and dust emission from the shock is sensitive to the dust-to-gas ratio of the infalling material.
History
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 2. Fast and slow magnetohydrodynamic shocks -- 3. Shocks in magnetohydrodynamic simulations -- 4. Shocks in Galactic Centre molecular clouds -- 5. Two-fluid dusty shocks -- 6. Conclusion -- Appendices -- References.
Notes
Bibliography: pages 137-156
Thesis by publication.
Awarding Institution
Macquarie University
Degree Type
Thesis PhD
Degree
PhD, Macquarie University, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Department, Centre or School
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Year of Award
2017
Principal Supervisor
Mark Wardle
Additional Supervisor 1
Birendra Pandey
Rights
Copyright Andrew Lehmann 2017.
Copyright disclaimer: http://mq.edu.au/library/copyright