Hydromagnetic wave dissipation in molecular clouds

The damping of long wavelength, hydromagnetic waves in molecular cloud environments is studied with the aim of determining whether the supersonic motions observed in such clouds are likely to be due to the waves. It is found that Alfven waves propagating parallel to the average magnetic field are the longest lived wave modes. Such waves can typically survive for as long as one-million years if the wavelength is as long as a few tenths of a pc and the magnetic field is 0.1-1 milligauss. Nonlinear steepening of the waves followed by ion-neutral friction in the steepened wave profiles appears to be the most effective damping mechanism.