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ISM turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2006

Robert A. Piontek  and
Eve C. Ostriker
Robert A. Piontek
Affiliation:
Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany email: [email protected] Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 email: [email protected]
Eve C. Ostriker
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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We have performed numerical simulations which were designed to further our understanding of the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM). Our simulations include a multi-phase thermodynamic model of the ISM, magnetic fields, and sheared rotation, allowing us to study the effects of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in an environment containing high density cold clouds embedded in a warm, low density, ambient medium. These models have shown that the MRI is indeed a significant source of turbulence, particularly at low mean densities typical of the outer regions of the Milky Way, where star formation rates are low, but high levels of turbulence persist. Here, we summarize past findings, as well as our most recent models which include vertical stratification, allowing us to self-consistently model the vertical distribution of material in the disk.

Keywords

ISM: generalcloudskinematics and dynamicsmagnetic fieldsstructure
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 2 , Symposium S237: Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent ISM , August 2006 , pp. 65 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

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