Open AccessGeneration of density inhomogeneities by magnetohydrodynamic waves
Author(s) -
Falle S.A.E.G.,
Hartquist T.W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.04949.x
Subject(s) - physics , magnetohydrodynamic drive , magnetohydrodynamics , amplitude , computational physics , astrophysics , thermal , magnetic field , mode (computer interface) , plasma , density contrast , molecular cloud , mechanics , optics , stars , quantum mechanics , meteorology , computer science , operating system
We show that, in a cold plasma, one of the slow waves of the linear system is a Jordan mode, for which the density grows linearly with time. Although this mode is not present if the temperature is finite, slow waves still generate large density perturbations when the thermal sound speed is small compared with that of the fast and Alfvén waves. Numerical calculations show that non‐linear steepening of a fast wave with finite but modest amplitude can readily excite this mode as long as the angle between its direction of propagation and the magnetic field is neither too large nor too small. This produces persistent inhomogeneities with a large density contrast. We suggest that this mechanism is responsible for the clumps identified in CO maps of the Rosette molecular cloud and similar ones in other giant molecular clouds. The same process may also be responsible for the formation of dense cores in the clumps.