Evidence for Hierarchical Turbulent Scaling in Nearby Star-Forming Galaxies
We find recurring signatures of intermittency in molecular-gas velocities from cloud to galactic scales. In 31 selected galaxies from PHANGS-ALMA, velocity-centroid exponents through sixth order show nonlinear order dependence and nearly linear relations between consecutive exponents across galaxies. Positive estimated offsets from single-exponent scaling occur in all 52 galaxies with a valid power law fit and 99 of 100 clouds. A generalized She-Leveque hierarchy accommodates these signatures, supporting a hierarchical description of turbulent scaling in molecular gas across these environments.
astro-ph.GA↗