The effect of the intercloud medium on time dependent, spatially uniform decrease of magnetic flux in interstellar clouds

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Abstract

A recent criticism of a former paper by the author on the quasi-static contraction of interstellar clouds due to ambipolar diffusion is answered. The former paper explicitly neglected the external (intercloud) pressure, and the critical paper argued that that pressure significantly reduces the rate at which ambipolar diffusion progresses in a cloud. It also argued that neutrals should not have been assumed to remain at rest at all times. The author responds that pressure balance across the cloud surface does not at all inhibit ambipolar diffusion, and that the assumption that the neutrals remain at rest permits the effects to be isolated and individually studied.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)585-587
Number of pages3
JournalPublications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Volume35
StatePublished - Jan 1983

Keywords

  • Ambipolar Diffusion
  • Interstellar Gas
  • Interstellar Magnetic Fields
  • Stellar Evolution
  • Magnetic Compression
  • Magnetic Flux
  • Neutral Gases
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Astrophysics

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