The thermodynamics of multifluid magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in star forming regions
Kinsella, Aaron
(2017)
The thermodynamics of multifluid magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in star forming regions.
Master of Science thesis, Dublin City University.
It is believed that turbulence is an important process in the evolution and dynamics of molecular clouds and can significantly impact the processes of star formation inside these clouds. The aim of this project is to investigate the properties of multifluid magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in weakly ionised astrophysical plasmas such as molecular clouds. To do this the formation of structures through which energy can be dissipated, identified primarily by the structures of high cur rent density, will be studied. Ambipolar diffusion dominated systems will be studied with a view to discovering the impact this effect has on the formation of structures and magnetic field topology. The resulting statistics on dissipative structure formation will be compared with ideal MHD simulations. The formation of sheet-like structures is thought to be intrinsic to systems such as those outlined above, so a better understanding of the physical processes involved is a stepping stone in the development of better models for the early phases of star formation.