Poster abstract
Formation of Molecular Cloud Precursors from Colliding Superbubbles
Abstract
We investigate the formation of Molecular Cloud Complexes from expanding and colliding superbubbles, blown by realistic, time-dependent stellar winds and supernova explosions from young OB associations. The "converging flows" scenario for cloud formation is thus here implemented without artificial initial velocity or density perturbations, letting the latter arise naturally from the physics relevant to the problem.
We present two-dimensional, very high resolution hydrodynamical simulations of wind-blown superbubbles, following their evolution and collision, both in a uniform and in a turbulent diffuse medium. Simulations are performed with the hydrodynamical grid code RAMSES, properly adapted to model the energy and mass input from the young stars according to population synthesis models and with cooling and heating functions calculated for the ISM.
In both cases, the expansion and the collision between two superbubbles trigger the formation of cold and dense gas clumps. In the case of the turbulent medium we are also able to reproduce the observed anisotropies in triggered cloud formation regions.
We find that many clouds are pressure supported, others are rotation supported, but there are also many which would be unstable to gravitational collapse. Future simulations in 3d with Adaptive Mesh Refinement will give us more insight on the full structure, kinematics, and masses of the formed clouds.
We present two-dimensional, very high resolution hydrodynamical simulations of wind-blown superbubbles, following their evolution and collision, both in a uniform and in a turbulent diffuse medium. Simulations are performed with the hydrodynamical grid code RAMSES, properly adapted to model the energy and mass input from the young stars according to population synthesis models and with cooling and heating functions calculated for the ISM.
In both cases, the expansion and the collision between two superbubbles trigger the formation of cold and dense gas clumps. In the case of the turbulent medium we are also able to reproduce the observed anisotropies in triggered cloud formation regions.
We find that many clouds are pressure supported, others are rotation supported, but there are also many which would be unstable to gravitational collapse. Future simulations in 3d with Adaptive Mesh Refinement will give us more insight on the full structure, kinematics, and masses of the formed clouds.