1. Density distributions of outflow-driven turbulence
- Author
-
Anthony Moraghan, Suk-Jin Yoon, and Jongsoo Kim
- Subjects
Physics ,K-epsilon turbulence model ,Star formation ,Turbulence ,Molecular cloud ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Mechanics ,K-omega turbulence model ,Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,Physics::Fluid Dynamics ,Classical mechanics ,Space and Planetary Science ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,Total variation diminishing ,Outflow ,Supersonic speed ,Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics ,Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) - Abstract
Protostellar jets and outflows are signatures of star formation and promising mechanisms for driving supersonic turbulence in molecular clouds. We quantify outflow-driven turbulence through three-dimensional numerical simulations using an isothermal version of the robust total variation diminishing code. We drive turbulence in real-space using a simplified spherical outflow model, analyse the data through density probability distribution functions (PDF), and investigate the Core Formation Rate per free-fall time (CFR_ff). The real-space turbulence driving method produces a negatively skewed density PDF possessing an enhanced tail on the low-density side. It deviates from the log-normal distributions typically obtained from Fourier-space turbulence driving at low densities, but can provide a good fit at high-densities, particularly in terms of mass weighted rather than volume weighted density PDF. Due to this fact, we suggest that the CFR_ff determined from a Fourier-driven turbulence model could be comparable to that of our particular real-space driving model, which has a ratio of solenoidal to compressional components from the resulting turbulence velocity fields of ~0.6., 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRASL
- Published
- 2013