Ambipolar Drift Heating in Turbulent Molecular Clouds
Abstract
We present calculations of frictional heating by ion-neutral drift in three-dimensional simulations of turbulent, magnetized molecular clouds. We show that ambipolar drift heating is a strong function of position in a turbulent cloud, and its average value can be significantly larger than the average cosmic-ray heating rate. The heating rate per unit volume due to ambipolar drift, HAD=|JXB|2/ρiνin~ B4/(16π2L2Bρi νin), is found to depend on the rms Alfvénic Mach number, MA, and on the average field strength, as HAD~M2A<|B|>4. This implies that the typical scale of variation of the magnetic field, LB, is inversely proportional to MA, which we also demonstrate.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- September 2000
- DOI:
- 10.1086/309299
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9910147
- Bibcode:
- 2000ApJ...540..332P
- Keywords:
-
- ISM: Clouds;
- ISM: Magnetic Fields;
- ISM: Molecules;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 37 pages, 9 figures included