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We employ the Δ-variance analysis and study the turbulent gas dynamics of simulated molecular clouds (MCs). Our models account for a simplified treatment of time-dependent chemistry and the non-isothermal nature of the gas. We investigate simulations using three different initial mean number densities of n0 = 30, 100 and 300 cm-3 that span the range of values typical for MCs in the solar neighbourhood. Furthermore, we model the CO line emission in a postprocessing step using a radiative transfer code. We evaluate Δ-variance spectra for centroid velocity (CV) maps as well as for integrated intensity and column density maps for various chemical components: the total, H2 and 12CO number density and the integrated intensity of both the 12CO and 13CO (J = 1 → 0) lines. The spectral slopes of the Δ-variance computed on the CV maps for the total and H2 number density are significantly steeper compared to the different CO tracers. We find slopes for the linewidth-size relation ranging from 0.4 to 0.7 for the total and H2 density models, while the slopes for the various CO tracers range from 0.2 to 0.4 and underestimate the values for the total and H2 density by a factor of 1.5-3.0. We demonstrate that optical depth effects can significantly alter the Δ-variance spectra. Furthermore, we report a critical density threshold of ~100 cm-3 at which the Δ-variance slopes of the various CO tracers change sign. We thus conclude that carbon monoxide traces the total cloud structure well only if the average cloud density lies above this limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of probability distribution functions (pdfs) of column density in different zones of the star-forming region Perseus and its diffuse environment based on the map of dust opacity at 353 GHz available from the Planck archive. The pdf shape can be fitted by a combination of a lognormal function and an extended power-law tail at high densities, in zones centred at the molecular cloud Perseus. A linear combination of several lognormals fits very well the pdf in rings surrounding the cloud or in zones of its diffuse neighbourhood. The slope of the mean-density scaling law 〈ρ L∝Lα is steep (α = -1.93) in the former case and rather shallow (α =-0.77 ± 0.11) in the rings delineated around the cloud. We interpret these findings as signatures of two distinct physical regimes: (i) a gravoturbulent one which is characterized by nearly linear scaling of mass and practical lack of velocity scaling; and (ii) a predominantly turbulent one which is best described by steep velocity scaling and by invariant for compressible turbulence 〈ρ〉Lu³L/L, describing a scale-independent flux of the kinetic energy per unit volume through turbulent cascade. The gravoturbulent spatial domain can be identified with themolecular cloud Perseus while a relatively sharp transition to predominantly turbulent regime occurs in its vicinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that the behaviour of primordial gas collapsing in a dark matter minihalo can depend on the adopted choice of three-body H2 formation rate. The uncertainties in this rate span two orders of magnitude in the current literature, and so it remains a source of uncertainty in our knowledge of Population III star formation. Here, we investigate how the amount of fragmentation in primordial gas depends on the adopted three-body rate. We present the results of calculations that follow the chemical and thermal evolution of primordial gas as it collapses in two dark matter minihaloes. Our results on the effect of three-body rate on the evolution until the first protostar forms agree well with previous studies. However, our modified version of GADGET-2 smoothed particle hydrodynamics also includes sink particles, which allows us to follow the initial evolution of the accretion disc that builds up on the centre of each halo, and capture the fragmentation in gas as well as its dependence on the adopted three-body H2 formation rate. We find that the fragmentation behaviour of the gas is only marginally affected by the choice of three-body rate co-efficient, and that halo-to-halo differences are of equal importance in affecting the final mass distribution of stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the origin of stellar masses is a key problem in astrophysics. In the solar neighbourhood, the mass distribution of stars follows a seemingly universal pattern. In the centre of the Milky Way, however, there are indications for strong deviations and the same may be true for the nuclei of distant starburst galaxies. Here we present the first numerical hydrodynamical calculations of stars formed in a molecular region with chemical and thermodynamic properties similar to those of warm and dusty circumnuclear starburst regions. The resulting initial mass function is top-heavy with a peak at ∼15 M⊙, a sharp turn-down below ∼7 M⊙ and a power-law decline at high masses. We find a natural explanation for our results in terms of the temperature dependence of the Jeans mass, with collapse occurring at a temperature of ∼100 K and an H2 density of a few ×105 cm−3, and discuss possible implications for galaxy formation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]