scholarly journals Constraints on the star formation histories of galaxies in the Local Cosmological Volume

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
P Kroupa ◽  
M Haslbauer ◽  
I Banik ◽  
S T Nagesh ◽  
J Pflamm-Altenburg
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Formation Time ◽  
Evolution Of Galaxies ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
Star Formation Histories ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACT The majority of galaxies with current star formation rates (SFRs), $\rm SFR_{\rm o} \ge 10^{-3} \, M_\odot\,yr^{-1}$, in the Local Cosmological Volume, where observations should be reliable, have the property that their observed SFRo is larger than their average SFR. This is in tension with the evolution of galaxies described by delayed-τ models, according to which the opposite would be expected. The tension is apparent in that local galaxies imply the star formation time-scale τ ≈ 6.7 Gyr, much longer than the 3.5–4.5 Gyr obtained using an empirically determined main sequence at several redshifts. Using models where the SFR is a power law in time of the form ∝(t − t1)η for t1 = 1.8 Gyr (with no stars forming prior to t1) implies that η = 0.18 ± 0.03. This suggested near-constancy of a galaxy’s SFR over time raises non-trivial problems for the evolution and formation time of galaxies, but is broadly consistent with the observed decreasing main sequence with increasing age of the Universe.

scholarly journals Stochastic modelling of star-formation histories I: the scatter of the star-forming main sequence

2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (3) ◽  
pp. 3845-3869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neven Caplar ◽  
Sandro Tacchella
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Process ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Power Spectrum ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Power Spectrum Density ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Spectrum Density ◽  
Star Formation Histories

ABSTRACT We present a framework for modelling the star-formation histories of galaxies as a stochastic process. We define this stochastic process through a power spectrum density with a functional form of a broken power law. Star-formation histories are correlated on short time-scales, the strength of this correlation described by a power-law slope, α, and they decorrelate to resemble white noise over a time-scale that is proportional to the time-scale of the break in the power spectrum density, τbreak. We use this framework to explore the properties of the stochastic process that, we assume, gives rise to the log-normal scatter about the relationship between star-formation rate and stellar mass, the so-called galaxy star-forming main sequence. Specifically, we show how the measurements of the normalization and width (σMS) of the main sequence, measured in several passbands that probe different time-scales, give a constraint on the parameters of the underlying power spectrum density. We first derive these results analytically for a simplified case where we model observations by averaging over the recent star-formation history. We then run numerical simulations to find results for more realistic observational cases. As a proof of concept, we use observational estimates of the main sequence scatter at z ∼ 0 and M⋆ ≈ 1010 M⊙ measured in H α, UV+IR, and the u-band. The result is degenerate in the τbreak-α space, but if we assume α = 2, we measure $\tau _{\rm break}=170^{+169}_{-85}~\mathrm{Myr}$. This implies that star-formation histories of galaxies lose ‘memory’ of their previous activity on a time-scale of ∼200 Myr.

scholarly journals Rejuvenated galaxies with very old bulges at the origin of the bending of the main sequence and of the ‘green valley’

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (1) ◽  
pp. 1265-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mancini ◽  
Emanuele Daddi ◽  
Stéphanie Juneau ◽  
Alvio Renzini ◽  
Giulia Rodighiero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Massive Galaxies ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Late Event ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
Stellar Masses ◽  
Star Formation Histories

ABSTRACT We investigate the nature of star-forming galaxies with reduced specific star formation rate (sSFR) and high stellar masses, those ‘green valley’ objects that seemingly cause a reported bending, or flattening, of the star-forming main sequence. The fact that such objects host large bulges recently led some to suggest that the internal formation of bulges was a late event that induced the sSFRs of massive galaxies to drop in a slow downfall, and thus the main sequence to bend. We have studied in detail a sample of 10 galaxies at 0.45 < z < 1 with secure SFR from Herschel, deep Keck optical spectroscopy, and HST imaging from CANDELS allowing us to perform multiwavelength bulge to disc decomposition, and to derive star formation histories for the separated bulge and disc components. We find that the bulges hosted in these systems below main sequence are virtually all maximally old, with ages approaching the age of the Universe at the time of observation, while discs are young (〈 T50〉 ∼ 1.5 Gyr). We conclude that, at least based on our sample, the bending of the main sequence is, for a major part, due to rejuvenation, and we disfavour mechanisms that postulate the internal formation of bulges at late times. The very old stellar ages of our bulges suggest a number density of early-type galaxies at z = 1–3 higher than actually observed. If confirmed, this might represent one of the first direct validations of hierarchical assembly of bulges at high redshifts.

scholarly journals How to Model the Chemical Evolution of Galaxies

1993 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 557-566
Author(s):  
Joachim Köppen
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Chemical Evolution ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Formation Time ◽  
List Type ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
H Ii Region ◽  
Magellanic Stream

For a first interpretation of the comparison of observational data, the crude “Simple Model” of chemical evolution is quite useful. Since it has well been described in the literature (e.g. Pagel and Patchett 1975, Tinsley 1980), let us here just review the assumptions and whether they are satisfied: 1.The galaxy is a closed system, with no exchange of matter with its surroundings: For the solar neighbourhood this probably is not true (the infamous Gdwarf-“problem”, Pagel 1989b). For the Magellanic Clouds this is most certainly wrong, because of the presence of the Inter-Cloud Region and the Magellanic Stream, and evidence for interaction with each other and the Galaxy as well (cf. e.g. Westerlund 1990).2.It initially consists entirely of gas (without loss of generality of primordial composition): This is good approximation also for models with gas infall, as long as the infall occurs with a time scale shorter than the star formation time scale.3.The metal production of the average stellar generation (the yield y) is constant with time: Initially, it is reasonable to make this assumption. For tables of the oxygen yield see Koppen and Arimoto (1991).4.The metal rich gas ejected by the stars is completely mixed with the ambient gas. To neglect the finite stellar life times (“instantaneous recycling approximation”) is appropriate for elements synthesized in stars whose life time is much shorter than the star formation time scale, such as oxygen, neon, sulphur, and argon.5.The gas is well mixed at all times: We don't know. The dispersion of H II region abundances may give an indication. In the Magellanic Clouds Dufour (1984) finds quite a low value (±0.08 dex for oyxgen).

scholarly journals A redshift-dependent IRX–β dust attenuation relation for TNG50 galaxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (4) ◽  
pp. 4773-4794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Schulz ◽  
Gergö Popping ◽  
Annalisa Pillepich ◽  
Dylan Nelson ◽  
Mark Vogelsberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Infrared Excess ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Dust Composition ◽  
Metal Ratio ◽  
Stellar Masses ◽  
Dust Attenuation ◽  
Star Formation Histories

ABSTRACT We study the relation between the UV slope, β, and the ratio between the infrared- and UV luminosities (IRX) of galaxies from TNG50, the latest installment of the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation simulations. We select 7280 star-forming main-sequence (SFMS) galaxies with stellar mass ≥109 M⊙ at redshifts 0 ≤ z ≤ 4 and perform radiative transfer with skirt to model effects of interstellar medium dust on the emitted stellar light. Assuming a Milky Way dust type and a dust-to-metal ratio of 0.3, we find that TNG50 SFMS galaxies generally agree with observationally derived IRX–β relations at z ≲ 1. However, we find a redshift-dependent systematic offset with respect to empirically derived local relations, with the TNG50 IRX–β relation shifting towards lower β and steepening at higher redshifts. This is partially driven by variations in the dust-uncorrected UV slope of galaxies, due to different star formation histories of galaxies selected at different cosmic epochs; we suggest the remainder of the effect is caused by differences in the effective dust attenuation curves of galaxies as a function of redshift. We find a typical galaxy-to-galaxy variation of 0.3 dex in infrared excess (IRX) at fixed β, correlated with intrinsic galaxy properties: galaxies with higher star formation rates, star formation efficiencies, gas metallicities and stellar masses exhibit larger IRX values. We demonstrate a degeneracy between stellar age, dust geometry, and dust composition: z = 4 galaxies with a Small Magellanic Cloud dust type follow the same IRX–β relation as low-redshift galaxies with MW dust. We provide a redshift-dependent fitting function for the IRX–β relation for MW dust based on our models.

scholarly journals On a Slightly Different Power Law-Scaling for the Flat Universe

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-574
Author(s):  
C. Sivakumar ◽  
R. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Dark Energy ◽  
Equation Of State ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Hubble Parameter ◽  
State Parameter ◽  
Effective Equation ◽  
Flat Universe ◽  
Equation Of State Parameter ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe

A slightly different power law-scaling fits to the picture of our 13.7 billion years old flat universe which is expanding presently at 67 km/s/Mpc with an acceleration. The model which is an attempt to retain power-law scaling in the light of the accepted facts about the universe we are living in, has a constant effective equation of state parameter as the cosmic fluid is a solution of matter, radiation and dark energy. It is successful in explaining the acceleration of universe which the normal power law fails if the present Hubble parameter is 67 km/s/Mpc and age of the universe is 13.7 billion years, and it is free from the defect of singularity.

scholarly journals Evolution of the ISM in main-sequence versus starburst galaxies: A motivation for molecular deep fields

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S315) ◽  
pp. 228-235
Author(s):  
Manuel Aravena
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Sequence Versus ◽  
Duty Cycles ◽  
Single Burst ◽  
Major Merger ◽  
Deep Fields ◽  
The Universe

AbstractIn the last decade, significant progress has been made to understand the evolution with redshift of star formation processes in galaxies. Its is now clear that the majority of galaxies at z<3 form a nearly linear correlation between their stellar mass and star formation rates and appear to create most of their stars in timescales of ~1 Gyr. At the highest luminosities, a significant fraction of galaxies deviate from this main-sequence, showing short duty cycles and thus producing most of their stars in a single burst of star formation within ~100 Myr, being likely driven by major merger activity. Despite the large luminosities of starbursts, main-sequence galaxies appear to dominate the star formation density of the Universe at its peak.While progress has been impressive, a number of questions are still unanswered. In this paper, I briefly review our current observational understanding of this main-sequence vs starburst galaxy paradigm, and address how future observations will help us to have better insights into the fundamental properties of the interstellar medium of these galaxies. Finally, I show recent attempts to conduct molecular deep field observations and the motivation to perform molecular deep field spectroscopy with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

scholarly journals The flatness problem and the age of the Universe

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 3571-3575
Author(s):  
Phillip Helbig
Keyword(s):  
Early Universe ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Cosmological Parameters ◽  
Hubble Constant ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Density Parameter ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Flatness Problem

ABSTRACT Several authors have made claims, none of which has been rebutted, that the flatness problem, as formulated by Dicke and Peebles, is not really a problem but rather a misunderstanding. Nevertheless, the flatness problem is still widely perceived to be real. Most of the arguments against the idea of a flatness problem are based on the change with time of the density parameter Ω and normalized cosmological constant λ and, since the Hubble constant H is not considered, are independent of time-scale. An independent claim is that fine-tuning is required in order to produce a Universe which neither collapsed after a short time nor expanded so quickly that no structure formation could take place. I show that this claim does not imply that fine-tuning of the basic cosmological parameters is necessary, in part for similar reasons as in the more restricted flatness problem and in part due to an incorrect application of the idea of perturbing the early Universe in a gedankenexperiment; I discuss some typical pitfalls of the latter.

scholarly journals The roles of atomic and molecular gas on the redshift evolution of star formation and metallicity in galaxy formation models

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 245-245
Author(s):  
Jian Fu ◽  
Guinevere Kauffmann
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Formation Time ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Mass Relation

AbstractWe study the redshift evolution of neutral and molecular gas in the interstellar medium with the results from semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and evolution, which track the cold gas related physical processes in radially resolved galaxy disks. Two kinds of prescriptions are adopted to describe the conversion between molecular and neutral gas in the ISM: one is related to the gas surface density and gas metallicity based on the model results by Krumholz, Mckee & Tumlinson; the other is related the pressure of ISM. We try four types of star formation laws in the models to study the effect of the molecular gas component and the star formation time scale on the model results, and find that the H2 dependent star formation rate with constant star formation efficiency is the preferred star formation law. We run the models based on both Millennium and Millennium II Simulation haloes, and the model parameters are adjusted to fit the observations at z = 0 from THINGS/HERACLES and ALFALFA/COLD GASS. We give predictions for the redshift evolution of cosmic star formation density, H2 to HI cosmic ratios, gas to star mass ratios and gas metallicity vs stellar mass relation. Based on the model results, we find that: (i) the difference in the H2 to HI ratio at z > 3 between the two H2 fraction prescriptions can help future observations to test which prescription is better; (ii) a constant redshift independent star formation time scale will postpone the star formation processes at high redshift and cause obvious redshift evolution for the relation between gas metallicity and stellar mass in galaxies at z < 3.

scholarly journals Effect of galaxy mergers on star-formation rates

2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A51 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Pearson ◽  
L. Wang ◽  
M. Alpaslan ◽  
I. Baldry ◽  
M. Bilicki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Galaxy Mergers ◽  
Merging Galaxies ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Large Samples ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Over Time

Context. Galaxy mergers and interactions are an integral part of our basic understanding of how galaxies grow and evolve over time. However, the effect that galaxy mergers have on star-formation rates (SFRs) is contested, with observations of galaxy mergers showing reduced, enhanced, and highly enhanced star formation. Aims. We aim to determine the effect of galaxy mergers on the SFR of galaxies using statistically large samples of galaxies, totalling over 200 000, which is over a large redshift range from 0.0 to 4.0. Methods. We trained and used convolutional neural networks to create binary merger identifications (merger or non-merger) in the SDSS, KiDS, and CANDELS imaging surveys. We then compared the SFR, with the galaxy main sequence subtracted, of the merging and non-merging galaxies to determine what effect, if any, a galaxy merger has on SFR. Results. We find that the SFR of merging galaxies are not significantly different from the SFR of non-merging systems. The changes in the average SFR seen in the star-forming population when a galaxy is merging are small, of the order of a factor of 1.2. However, the higher the SFR is above the galaxy main sequence, the higher the fraction is for galaxy mergers. Conclusions. Galaxy mergers have little effect on the SFR of the majority of merging galaxies compared to the non-merging galaxies. The typical change in SFR is less than 0.1 dex in either direction. Larger changes in SFR can be seen but are less common. The increase in merger fraction as the distance above the galaxy main sequence increases demonstrates that galaxy mergers can induce starbursts.

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