Molecular clouds with low metal content, located in the Galactic outer disk and nearby metal-poor dwarf galaxies, show a notable deficiency in their turbulent support against self-gravity. This challenges the classical virial scenario, in which turbulence and self-gravitational energies are in equilibrium.
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References
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This is a summary of: Lin, L. et al. Inadequate turbulent support in low-metallicity molecular clouds. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02440-3 (2024).
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Turbulence cannot balance self-gravity in low-metallicity molecular clouds in the Galactic outer disk and beyond. Nat Astron (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02441-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02441-2
