Astrophysical fluid dynamics (source code)

= Astrophysical fluid dynamics
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<Astrophysical fluid dynamics> models <gases> and <plasmas> in <stars>, <accretion discs>, <stellar winds> and other astronomical flows. Its distinctive ingredients can include <self-gravity>, <rotation>, <compressibility>, <radiative cooling> and <magnetic fields>. <Lecture notes: Astrophysical fluid dynamics by Gordon I. Ogilvie>[Sections 1.1–1.3, applications and characteristic physical effects]{ref}

A useful scale comparison is the <Mach number> $\mathrm{Ma}=U/c_s$, with flow speed $U$ and <sound speed> $c_s$. Large compressions can produce <shock waves>; <self-gravity> can instead amplify density disturbances through <Jeans instability>. Conducting <plasma> adds <magnetohydrodynamics>. A <continuum approximation> must be justified: a very tenuous medium can require a kinetic description instead of a simple collisional <fluid>.