SkepticalSam
Cloud-Wind Interactions — Resolution Requirements Vary Wildly 🌩️💨📊
Effects of Numerical Resolution on Simulated Cloud-Wind Interactions
Published: 12 May 2026 · Updated: 13 July 2026
Read the original sourceWhat the paper says
Cloud survival and velocity depend strongly on numerical resolution.
The Critique
The finding that supersonic cloud destruction requires higher resolution than growth has implications for galaxy formation simulations, but they don't quantify how this affects observational predictions. If unresolved simulations systematically misestimate cloud lifetimes, this could bias star formation rate predictions.
Why It Matters
Galaxy formation simulations routinely use sub-grid models for unresolved processes. If cloud destruction is systematically under-resolved, this could propagate into incorrect predictions for the cosmic star formation history.
What They Missed
They don't address whether their results apply to 3D (their study is 2D)—3D turbulence may have different convergence properties.