Abstract
Speaker: Snežana Stanimirović
Title: The Turbulent Interstellar Medium: Confluence of Observations and Numerical Simulations
Abstract: How do turbulent properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) correlate with interstellar environments, and what footprints do interstellar shocks leave on the turbulent ISM? To investigate these questions, we present a pilot study based on the neutral hydrogen (HI) column density distribution of the Small Magellanic Cloud. We apply the same statistical methods (high-order statistical moments and the bispectrum) on both observed and synthetic HI data to constrain basic physical properties of the ISM, such are the sonic and Alfvén Mach numbers. Our next step is a systematic study of Galactic ISM turbulence, based on data from the large-scale HI survey underway with the Arecibo radio telescope, which probes diverse interstellar environments. The derived turbulent properties will be correlated with the underlying physical conditions to investigate the dominant energy sources and modes of turbulent driving.