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Nonlinear waves and solitons in molecular cloudsWe begin a study of nonlinear wave phenomena in molecular clouds. These clouds exhibit highly nonlinear structure that is often described in terms of 'clumps' and 'filaments' which are bouncing around, twisting, and colliding within the cloud. These clouds are important because they ultimately produce the initial conditions for the star formation process. Our motivation is to explore the possibility that solitons (i.e., spatially localized, single-hump wave entities which often exhibit remarkable stability) can live in these molecular clouds and produce their observed structure. In this paper we focus on the case of one spatial dimension, and we show that a rich variety of nonlinear waves can exist in molecular cloud fluid systems (where self-gravity is included). We show that in the absence of magnetic fields no true soliton solutions are allowed, although highly nonlinear waves (whose crests become widely spaced and thus soliton-like) do exist. For clouds with embedded magnetic fields, we derive a model equation which describes the behavior of wave phenomena; this model equation allows solutions which correspond to nonlinear waves, solitons, and topological solitons. We briefly consider the stability of these wave entities and discuss the possible role they play in molecular cloud dynamics.
Document ID
19930039967
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Adams, Fred C.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Fatuzzo, Marco
(Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
January 20, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 403
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
93A23964
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-2802
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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