scholarly journals A Model for Self-Regulating Star Formation

1987 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 548-550
Author(s):  
Tommy Wiklind

To model the nearly constant star formation rate, SFR, observed in most late-type galaxies (Gallagher et al. 1984), as well as the starbursting behaviour of some interacting galaxies (Joseph et al. 1984) we have developed a phenomenological model of the regulatory coupling between the density of the star forming part of the interstellar medium, i.e. molecular gas, and the rate of formation of massive stars.

2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A113 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Argudo-Fernández ◽  
I. Lacerna ◽  
S. Duarte Puertas

Context. Galaxy mass and environment play a major role in the evolution of galaxies. In the transition from star-forming to quenched galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGNs) also have a principal action therein. However, the connections between these three actors are still uncertain. Aims. In this work we investigate the effects of stellar mass and the large-scale structure (LSS) environment on the fraction of optical nuclear activity in a population of isolated galaxies, where AGN would not be triggered by recent galaxy interactions or mergers. Methods. As a continuation of a previous work, we focus on isolated galaxies to study the effect of stellar mass and the LSS in terms of morphology (early- and late-type), colour (red and blue), and specific star-formation rate (quenched and star-forming). To explore where AGN activity is affected by the LSS, we separate galaxies into two groups, of low- and high mass, respectively, and use the tidal strength parameter to quantify the effects. Results. We found that AGN is strongly affected by stellar mass in “active” galaxies (namely late-type, blue, and star-forming), but that mass has no influence on “quiescent” galaxies (namely early-type, red, and quenched), at least for masses down to 1010 M⊙. In relation to the LSS, we found an increase in the fraction of star-forming nuclei galaxies with denser LSS in low-mass star-forming and red isolated galaxies. Regarding AGN, we find a clear increase in the fraction of AGNs with denser environment in quenched and red isolated galaxies, independently of the stellar mass. Conclusions. Active galactic nuclei activity appears to be “mass triggered” in active isolated galaxies. This means that AGN activity is independent of the intrinsic properties of the galaxies, but is dependent on their stellar mass. On the other hand, AGN activity appears to be “environment triggered” in quiescent isolated galaxies, where the fraction of AGNs as a function of specific star formation rate and colour increases from void regions to denser LSS, independently of stellar mass.


1990 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 175-182
Author(s):  
Anatoli V. Zasov

It seems obvious that the evolution of star formation rate and hence of gas content in galaxies strongly depends on their environment. It reveals itself in particular in enhanced star formation or even in a strong burst of activity of massive stars often observed in an interacting galaxies. Nevertheless it should be noted that the time scale for the gas to be exhausted in these galaxies is unknown even approximately. To clarify a role of surroundings in the evolution of disk galaxies we should compare the HI content of isolated and non-isolated galaxies otherwise similar by their properties.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (S314) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Charles J. Lada

AbstractStudies of molecular clouds and young stars near the sun have provided invaluable insights into the process of star formation. Indeed, much of our physical understanding of this topic has been derived from such studies. Perhaps the two most fundamental problems confronting star formation research today are: 1) determining the origin of stellar mass and 2) deciphering the nature of the physical processes that control the star formation rate in molecular gas. As I will briefly outline here, observations and studies of local star forming regions are making particularly significant contributions toward the solution of both these important problems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 602 ◽  
pp. A51 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vollmer ◽  
P. Gratier ◽  
J. Braine ◽  
C. Bot

High-z star-forming galaxies have significantly higher gas fractions and star-formation efficiencies per molecular gas mass than local star-forming galaxies. In this work, we take a closer look at the gas content or fraction and the associated star-formation rate in main sequence and starburst galaxies at z = 0 and z ~ 1–2 by applying an analytical model of galactic clumpy gas disks to samples of local spiral galaxies, ULIRGs, submillimeter (smm), and high-z star-forming galaxies. The model simultaneously calculates the total gas mass, Hi/H2 mass, the gas velocity dispersion, IR luminosity, IR spectral energy distribution, CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED), HCN(1–0) and HCO+(1–0) emission of a galaxy given its size, integrated star formation rate, stellar mass radial profile, rotation curve, and Toomre Q parameter. The model reproduces the observed CO luminosities and SLEDs of all sample galaxies within the model uncertainties (~0.3 dex). Whereas the CO emission is robust against the variation of model parameters, the HCN and HCO+ emissions are sensitive to the chemistry of the interstellar medium. The CO and HCN mass-to-light conversion factors, including CO-dark H2, are given and compared to the values found in the literature. All model conversion factors have uncertainties of a factor of two. Both the HCN and HCO+ emissions trace the dense molecular gas to a factor of approximately two for the local spiral galaxies, ULIRGs and smm-galaxies. Approximately 80% of the molecular line emission of compact starburst galaxies originates in non-self-gravitating gas clouds. The effect of HCN infrared pumping is small but measurable (10–20%). The gas velocity dispersion varies significantly with the Toomre Q parameter. The Q = 1.5 model yields high-velocity dispersions (vdisp ≫ 10 km s-1) consistent with available observations of high-z star-forming galaxies and ULIRGs. However, we note that these high-velocity dispersions are not mandatory for starburst galaxies. The integrated Kennicutt-Schmidt law has a slope of approximately 1 for the local spirals, ULIRGs, and smm-galaxies, whereas the slope is 1.7 for high-z star-forming galaxies. The model shows Kennicutt-Schmidt laws with respect to the molecular gas surface density with slopes of approximately 1.5 for local spiral galaxies, high-z star-forming galaxies. The relation steepens for compact starburst galaxies. The model star-formation rate per unit area is, as observed, proportional to the molecular gas surface density divided by the dynamical timescale. Our relatively simple analytic model together with the recipes for the molecular line emission appears to capture the essential physics of galactic clumpy gas disks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. L39-L43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara L Ellison ◽  
Mallory D Thorp ◽  
Lihwai Lin ◽  
Hsi-An Pan ◽  
Asa F L Bluck ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Using a sample of 11 478 spaxels in 34 galaxies with molecular gas, star formation, and stellar maps taken from the ALMA-MaNGA QUEnching and STar formation (ALMaQUEST) survey, we investigate the parameters that correlate with variations in star formation rates on kpc scales. We use a combination of correlation statistics and an artificial neural network to quantify the parameters that drive both the absolute star formation rate surface density (ΣSFR), as well as its scatter around the resolved star-forming main sequence (ΔΣSFR). We find that ΣSFR is primarily regulated by molecular gas surface density ($\Sigma _{\rm H_2}$) with a secondary dependence on stellar mass surface density (Σ⋆), as expected from an ‘extended Kennicutt–Schmidt relation’. However, ΔΣSFR is driven primarily by changes in star formation efficiency (SFE), with variations in gas fraction playing a secondary role. Taken together, our results demonstrate that whilst the absolute rate of star formation is primarily set by the amount of molecular gas, the variation of star formation rate above and below the resolved star-forming main sequence (on kpc scales) is primarily due to changes in SFE.


2004 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 498-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Walter ◽  
Crystal Martin ◽  
Jürgen Ott ◽  
Andreas Heithausen

We report the discovery of extended star formation in the prominent tidal arms near NGC 3077 (member of the M 81 triplet). 36 faint compact star forming regions were identified, covering an area of 4 × 6 kpc2. HII regions are only found near the southern rim of the tidal HI arm where the HI column density reaches values above 1 × 1021 cm−2. This threshold is very similar to what is found in ‘normal’ galactic environments. We derive a total star formation rate of 2.6 × 10−3M⊙ yr−1 in the tidal feature. We also present the first high-resolution observations of molecular gas in this region. The molecular gas emission can be separated into at least 5 distinct complexes most of which do not coincide with sites of star formation. The reservoir of neutral and molecular gas in the tidal arm is huge (~5 × 108M⊙); star formation may continue at the given rate for a Hubble time. We conclude that wide-spread low-level star formation may be a common phenomenon in tidal HI tails, however it will be difficult to detect in interacting systems that are further away.


2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (1) ◽  
pp. L66-L71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simcha Brownson ◽  
Francesco Belfiore ◽  
Roberto Maiolino ◽  
Lihwai Lin ◽  
Stefano Carniani

ABSTRACT We study quenching in seven green valley galaxies on kpc scales by resolving their molecular gas content using 12CO(1–0) observations obtained with NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array and Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and their star formation rate using spatially resolved optical spectroscopy from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory survey. We perform radial stacking of both data sets to increase the sensitivity to molecular gas and star formation, thereby avoiding biases against strongly quenched regions. We find that both spatially resolved gas fraction (fgas) and star formation efficiency ($\rm {SFE}$) are responsible for quenching green valley galaxies at all radii: both quantities are suppressed with respect to typical star-forming regions. fgas and $\rm {SFE}$ have roughly equal influence in quenching the outer disc. We are, however, unable to identify the dominant mechanism in the strongly quenched central regions. We find that fgas is reduced by $\rm \sim\! 1~dex$ in the central regions, but the star formation rate is too low to be measured, leading to upper limits for the $\rm {SFE}$. Moving from the outer disc to central regions, the reduction in fgas is driven by an increasing $\rm \Sigma _{\star }$ profile rather than a decreasing $\rm \Sigma _{H_{2}}$ profile. The reduced fgas may therefore be caused by a decrease in the gas supply rather than molecular gas ejection mechanisms, such as winds driven by active galactic nuclei. We warn more generally that studies investigating fgas may be deceiving in inferring the cause of quenching, particularly in the central (bulge-dominated) regions of galaxies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A26 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Pilyugin ◽  
E. K. Grebel ◽  
I. A. Zinchenko ◽  
J. M. Vílchez ◽  
F. Sakhibov ◽  
...  

We derive the photometric, kinematic, and abundance characteristics of 18 star-forming MaNGA galaxies with fairly regular velocity fields and surface brightness distributions and with a large offset between the measured position angles of the major kinematic and photometric axes, ΔPA ≳ 20°. The aim is to examine if there is any other distinctive characteristic common to these galaxies. We found morphological signs of interaction in some (in 11 out of 18) but not in all galaxies. The observed velocity fields show a large variety; the maps of the isovelocities vary from an hourglass-like appearance to a set of straight lines. The position angles of the major kinematic axes of the stellar and gas rotations are close to each other. The values of the central oxygen abundance, radial abundance gradient, and star formation rate are distributed within the intervals defined by galaxies with small (no) ΔPA of similar mass. Thus, we do not find any specific characteristic common to all galaxies with large ΔPA. Instead, the properties of these galaxies are similar to those of galaxies with small (no) ΔPA. This suggests that either the reason responsible for the large ΔPA does not influence other characteristics or the galaxies with large ΔPA do not share a common origin, they can, instead, originate through different channels.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Fernanda Roman-Oliveira ◽  
Ana L Chies-Santos ◽  
Fabricio Ferrari ◽  
Geferson Lucatelli ◽  
Bruno Rodríguez Del Pino

ABSTRACT We explore the morphometric properties of a group of 73 ram-pressure stripping candidates in the A901/A902 multicluster system, at z∼ 0.165, to characterize the morphologies and structural evolution of jellyfish galaxies. By employing a quantitative measurement of morphometric indicators with the algorithm morfometryka on Hubble Space Telescope (F606W) images of the galaxies, we present a novel morphology-based method for determining trail vectors. We study the surface brightness profiles and curvature of the candidates and compare the results obtained with two analysis packages, morfometryka and iraf/ellipse on retrieving information of the irregular structures present in the galaxies. Our morphometric analysis shows that the ram-pressure stripping candidates have peculiar concave regions in their surface brightness profiles. Therefore, these profiles are less concentrated (lower Sérsic indices) than other star-forming galaxies that do not show morphological features of ram-pressure stripping. In combination with morphometric trail vectors, this feature could both help identify galaxies undergoing ram-pressure stripping and reveal spatial variations in the star formation rate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 624 ◽  
pp. A81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison W. S. Man ◽  
Matthew D. Lehnert ◽  
Joël D. R. Vernet ◽  
Carlos De Breuck ◽  
Theresa Falkendal

The objective of this work is to study how active galactic nuclei (AGN) influence star formation in host galaxies. We present a detailed investigation of the star-formation history and conditions of a z = 2.57 massive radio galaxy based on VLT/X-shooter and ALMA observations. The deep rest-frame ultraviolet spectrum contains photospheric absorption lines and wind features indicating the presence of OB-type stars. The most significantly detected photospheric features are used to characterize the recent star formation: neither instantaneous nor continuous star-formation history is consistent with the relative strength of the Si IIλ1485 and S Vλ1502 absorption. Rather, at least two bursts of star formation took place in the recent past, at 6+1-2 Myr and ≳20 Myr ago, respectively. We deduce a molecular H2 gas mass of (3.9 ± 1.0) × 1010 M⊙ based on ALMA observations of the [C I] 3P2−3P1 emission. The molecular gas mass is only 13% of its stellar mass. Combined with its high star-formation rate of (1020-170+190 M⊙ yr-1, this implies a high star-formation efficiency of (26 ± 8) Gyr−1 and a short depletion time of (38 ± 12) Myr. We attribute the efficient star formation to compressive gas motions in order to explain the modest velocity dispersions (⩽55 km s−1) of the photospheric lines and of the star-forming gas traced by [C I]. Because of the likely very young age of the radio source, our findings suggest that vigorous star formation consumes much of the gas and works in concert with the AGN to remove any residual molecular gas, and eventually quenching star formation in massive galaxies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document