論文摘要

The Thickness of Molecular Cloud

[ Poster ]

Ting-Xuan Li (NTNU); Yueh-Ning Lee (NTNU)

Star formation occurs inside molecular clouds, and these latter usually show complicated structures. In particular, observation of Monoceroos R2 suggests that it is a sheet-like structure. Hence, we want to study this region. However, we can only derive integrated properties from observations, that is, the surface density. Therefore, we try to model the "thickness" of the cloud. We look for hydrostatic equilibrium under various conditions: whether the gravity is dominated by the local surface density or the central mass, whether the pressure support is provided by thermal motion or turbulent velocity dispersion. Once the thickness is known, we can also evaluate the characteristic density of this region.