scholarly journals Modelling H2 and its effects on star formation using a joint implementation of gadget-3 and KROME

2021 ◽  
Vol 504 (2) ◽  
pp. 2325-2345
Author(s):  
Emanuel Sillero ◽  
Patricia B Tissera ◽  
Diego G Lambas ◽  
Stefano Bovino ◽  
Dominik R Schleicher ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present p-gadget3-k, an updated version of gadget-3, that incorporates the chemistry package krome. p-gadget3-k follows the hydrodynamical and chemical evolution of cosmic structures, incorporating the chemistry and cooling of H2 and metal cooling in non-equilibrium. We performed different runs of the same ICs to assess the impact of various physical parameters and prescriptions, namely gas metallicity, molecular hydrogen formation on dust, star formation recipes including or not H2 dependence, and the effects of numerical resolution. We find that the characteristics of the simulated systems, both globally and at kpc-scales, are in good agreement with several observable properties of molecular gas in star-forming galaxies. The surface density profiles of star formation rate (SFR) and H2 are found to vary with the clumping factor and resolution. In agreement with previous results, the chemical enrichment of the gas component is found to be a key ingredient to model the formation and distribution of H2 as a function of gas density and temperature. A star formation algorithm that takes into account the H2 fraction together with a treatment for the local stellar radiation field improves the agreement with observed H2 abundances over a wide range of gas densities and with the molecular Kennicutt–Schmidt law, implying a more realistic modelling of the star formation process.

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (4) ◽  
pp. 6053-6071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Appleby ◽  
Romeel Davé ◽  
Katarina Kraljic ◽  
Daniel Anglés-Alcázar ◽  
Desika Narayanan

ABSTRACT We study specific star formation rate (sSFR) and gas profiles of star-forming (SF) and green valley (GV) galaxies in the simba cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. SF galaxy half-light radii (Rhalf) at z = 0 and their evolution (∝(1 + z)−0.78) agree with observations. Passive galaxy Rhalf agree with observations at high redshift, but by z = 0 are too large, owing to numerical heating. We compare simbaz = 0 sSFR radial profiles for SF and GV galaxies to observations. simba shows strong central depressions in star formation rate (SFR), sSFR, and gas fraction in GV galaxies and massive SF systems, qualitatively as observed, owing to black hole X-ray feedback, which pushes central gas outwards. Turning off X-ray feedback leads to centrally peaked sSFR profiles as in other simulations. In conflict with observations, simba yields GV galaxies with strongly dropping sSFR profiles beyond ≳Rhalf, regardless of active galactic nucleus feedback. The central depression owes to lowering molecular gas content; the drop in the outskirts owes to reduced star formation efficiency. simba’s satellites have higher central sSFR and lower outskirts sSFR than centrals, in qualitative agreement with observations. At z = 2, simba does not show central depressions in massive SF galaxies, suggesting simba’s X-ray feedback should be more active at high-z. High-resolution tests indicate central sSFR suppression is not sensitive to numerical resolution. Reproducing the central sSFR depression in z = 0 GV galaxies represents a unique success of simba. The remaining discrepancies highlight the importance of SFR and gas profiles in constraining quenching mechanisms.


Author(s):  
N. R. Tanvir ◽  
E. Le Floc’h ◽  
L. Christensen ◽  
J. Caruana ◽  
R. Salvaterra ◽  
...  

AbstractAt peak, long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation known. Since their progenitors are massive stars, they provide a tracer of star formation and star-forming galaxies over the whole of cosmic history. Their bright power-law afterglows provide ideal backlights for absorption studies of the interstellar and intergalactic medium back to the reionization era. The proposed THESEUS mission is designed to detect large samples of GRBs at z > 6 in the 2030s, at a time when supporting observations with major next generation facilities will be possible, thus enabling a range of transformative science. THESEUS will allow us to explore the faint end of the luminosity function of galaxies and the star formation rate density to high redshifts; constrain the progress of re-ionisation beyond $z\gtrsim 6$ z ≳ 6 ; study in detail early chemical enrichment from stellar explosions, including signatures of Population III stars; and potentially characterize the dark energy equation of state at the highest redshifts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (2) ◽  
pp. 2855-2879 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Y Aaron Yung ◽  
Rachel S Somerville ◽  
Gergö Popping ◽  
Steven L Finkelstein ◽  
Harry C Ferguson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The long anticipated James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to directly detect large samples of galaxies at very high redshift. Using the well-established, computationally efficient Santa Cruz semi-analytic model, with recently implemented multiphase gas partitioning, and H2-based star formation recipes, we make predictions for a wide variety of galaxy properties for galaxy populations at z = 4–10. In this work, we provide forecasts for the physical properties of high-redshift galaxies and links to their photometric properties. With physical parameters calibrated only to z ∼ 0 observations, our model predictions are in good agreement with current observational constraints on stellar mass and star formation rate distribution functions up to z ∼ 8. We also provide predictions representing wide, deep, and lensed JWST survey configurations. We study the redshift evolution of key galaxy properties and the scaling relations among them. Taking advantage of our models’ high computational efficiency, we study the impact of systematically varying the model parameters. All distribution functions and scaling relations presented in this work are available at https://www.simonsfoundation.org/semi-analytic-forecasts-for-jwst/.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (4) ◽  
pp. 4751-4770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mallory Molina ◽  
Nikhil Ajgaonkar ◽  
Renbin Yan ◽  
Robin Ciardullo ◽  
Caryl Gronwall ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The attenuation of light from star-forming galaxies is correlated with a multitude of physical parameters including star formation rate, metallicity and total dust content. This variation in attenuation is even more evident on kiloparsec scales, which is the relevant size for many current spectroscopic integral field unit surveys. To understand the cause of this variation, we present and analyse Swift/UVOT near-UV (NUV) images and SDSS/MaNGA emission-line maps of 29 nearby (z < 0.084) star-forming galaxies. We resolve kiloparsec-sized star-forming regions within the galaxies and compare their optical nebular attenuation (i.e. the Balmer emission line optical depth, $\tau ^{l}_{B}\equiv \tau _{\textrm {H}\beta }-\tau _{\textrm {H}\alpha }$) and NUV stellar continuum attenuation (via the NUV power-law index, β) to the attenuation law described by Battisti et al. We show the data agree with that model, albeit with significant scatter. We explore the dependence of the scatter of the β–$\tau ^{l}_{B}$ measurements from the star-forming regions on different physical parameters, including distance from the nucleus, star formation rate and total dust content. Finally, we compare the measured $\tau ^{l}_{B}$ and β values for the individual star-forming regions with those of the integrated galaxy light. We find a strong variation in β between the kiloparsec scale and the larger galaxy scale that is not seen in $\tau ^{l}_{B}$. We conclude that the sightline dependence of UV attenuation and the reddening of β due to the light from older stellar populations could contribute to the scatter in the β–$\tau ^{l}_{B}$ relation.


Author(s):  
J K Barrera-Ballesteros ◽  
S F Sánchez ◽  
T Heckman ◽  
T Wong ◽  
A Bolatto ◽  
...  

Abstract The processes that regulate star formation are essential to understand how galaxies evolve. We present the relation between star formation rate density, ΣSFR , and hydrostatic midplane pressure, Ph , for 4260 star-forming regions of kpc size located in 96 galaxies included in the EDGE-CALIFA survey covering a wide range of stellar masses and morphologies. We find that these two parameters are tightly correlated, showing a smaller scatter in comparison to other star-forming relations. A power-law, with a slightly sub-linear index, is a good representation of this relation. Its residuals show a significant anti-correlation with both stellar age and metallicity whereas the total stellar mass may also play a secondary role in shaping the ΣSFR - Ph relation. For actively star-forming regions we find that the effective feedback momentum per unit stellar mass (p*/m*), measured from the Ph/ΣSFR ratio increases with Ph. The median value of this ratio for all the sampled regions is larger than the expected momentum just from supernovae explosions. Morphology of the galaxies, including bars, does not seem to have a significant impact in the ΣSFR - Ph relation. Our analysis indicates that local ΣSFR self-regulation comes mainly from momentum injection to the interstellar medium from supernovae explosions. However, other mechanisms in disk galaxies may also play a significant role in shaping the ΣSFR at kpc scales. Our results also suggest that Ph is the main parameter that modulates star formation at kpc scales, rather than individual components of the baryonic mass.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3987-3998
Author(s):  
Hasti Nateghi ◽  
Glenn G Kacprzak ◽  
Nikole M Nielsen ◽  
Sowgat Muzahid ◽  
Christopher W Churchill ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The multiphase circumgalactic medium (CGM) arises within the complex environment around a galaxy, or collection of galaxies, and possibly originates from a wide range of physical mechanisms. In this paper, we attempt to disentangle the origins of these multiphase structures and present a detailed analysis of the quasar field Q0122−003 field using Keck/KCWI galaxy observations and HST/COS spectra probing the CGM. Our re-analysis of this field shows that there are two galaxies associated with the absorption. We have discovered a dwarf galaxy, G_27kpc (M⋆ = 108.7 M⊙), at z = 0.39863 that is 27 kpc from the quasar sightline. G_27kpc is only +21 km s−1 from a more massive (M⋆ = 1010.5 M⊙) star-forming galaxy, G_163kpc, at an impact parameter of 163 kpc. While G_163kpc is actively forming stars (SFR = 6.9 M⊙ yr−1), G_27kpc has a low star-formation rate (SFR = 0.08 ± 0.03 M⊙ yr−1) and star formation surface density (ΣSFR = 0.006 M⊙ kpc−2 yr−1), implying no active outflows. By comparing galaxy SFRs, kinematics, masses, and distances from the quasar sightline to the absorption kinematics, column densities, and metallicities, we have inferred the following: (1) Part of the low-ionization phase has a metallicity and kinematics consistent with being accreted on to G_27kpc. (2) The remainder of the low ionization phase has metallicities and kinematics consistent with being intragroup gas being transferred from G_27kpc to G_163kpc. (3) The high ionization phase is consistent with being produced solely by outflows originating from the massive halo of G_163kpc. Our results demonstrate the complex nature of the multiphase CGM, especially around galaxy groups, and that detailed case-by-case studies are critical for disentangling its origins.


2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A125
Author(s):  
Cecilia Bacchini ◽  
Filippo Fraternali ◽  
Gabriele Pezzulli ◽  
Antonino Marasco

In the last decades, much effort has been put into finding the star formation law, which could unequivocally link the gas and the star formation rate (SFR) densities measured on a sub-kiloparsec scale in star-forming galaxies. The conventional approach of using the observed surface densities to infer star formation laws has however revealed a major and well-known issue, as such relations are valid for the high-density regions of galaxies but break down in low-density and HI-dominated environments. Recently, an empirical correlation between the total gas (HI+H2) and the SFR volume densities was obtained for a sample of nearby disc galaxies and for the Milky Way. This volumetric star formation (VSF) law is a single power-law with no break and a smaller intrinsic scatter with respect to the star formation laws based on the surface density. In this work, we explore the VSF law in the regime of dwarf galaxies in order to test its validity in HI-dominated, low-density, and low-metallicity environments. In addition, we assess this relation in the outskirts of spiral galaxies, which are low-density and HI-dominated regions similar to dwarf galaxies. Remarkably, we find that the VSF law, namely ρSFR ∝ ρgasα with α ≈ 2, is valid for both these regimes. This result indicates that the VSF law, which holds unbroken for a wide range of gas (≈3 dex) and SFR (≈6 dex) volume densities, is the empirical relation with the smallest intrinsic scatter and is likely more fundamental than surface-based star formation laws.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S319) ◽  
pp. 53-53
Author(s):  
Rhythm Shimakawa ◽  
Tadayuki Kodama ◽  
Masao Hayashi ◽  
Ken-ichi Tadaki ◽  
Tomoko L. Suzuki ◽  
...  

AbstractThe redshift interval z = 2–3 is known as the cosmic noon that is the most active era of star formation across the Universe (Hopkins & Beacom 2006). In the past decade, many authors have investigated global properties of star-forming (SF) galaxies in this turbulent era, such as gas fractions and gaseous metallicities (e.g. Erb et al. 2006). With those achievements, we are going on to the next stage to understand more details i.e. those physical parameters in star-forming regions. Recent advent of near-infrared instruments typified by MOSFIRE on the Keck telescope, enable us with identifying the physical parameters of Hii regions in ‘typical’ SF galaxies individually (Steidel et al. 2014). Recent highlights suggest higher electron densities, higher ionization parameters, and harder UV radiation fields may be common.In order to know how galaxy evolution physically correlates with the natures of their star-forming regions, we have explored relationships between the electron density (ne) of ionized gas from the oxygen line ratio and other physical properties, based on the deep spectra of Hα emitters at z = 2.5 by the MOSFIRE. MOSFIRE for the first time provides ne of the galaxies at high-z with a high level of confidence. The result shows the specific star formation rate (sSFR) and the SFR surface density (ΣSFR) are correlated with ne (Shimakawa et al. 2015). The ne-ΣSFR relation could be linked to the star formation law in Hii regions if we assume that hydrogen in Hii regions is fully-ionized. Otherwise, more active star formation per unit area (higher ΣSFRs), may cause higher ionization states. However, we need some specific concerns that obtained physical parameters should depend on the scale dependence, since typical size of Hii region is only <100 pc despite that we study physical states of entire galaxies. Thus we obtain surface-brightness-weighted and ensemble averaged line fluxes for the entire galaxy or the part that falls into the slit width (a few kpc scale size). The thirty meter telescope (TMT) is a powerful instrument to resolve such a difficulty, since its spatial resolution reaches <100 pc on the physical scale at z ~ 2 by AO assistance.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 307-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-H. R. Chen ◽  
R. Indebetouw ◽  
E. Muller ◽  
M. Messineo ◽  
K. M. Menten ◽  
...  

AbstractThe relationship between star formation rate (SFR) and the gas surface density (Σgas) is one of the most critical links between star formation and galaxy evolution. The observed SFR- Σgas relation, the “Schmidt-Kennicutt (S-K) law”, is tight when properties are averaged over kpc, but breaks down at the scale of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). To understand the physics governing the variations at GMC scales and the tight correlation at kpc scales, spatially and temporally resolved data covering a wide range of linear scale are needed. We have used the Spitzer surveys of the Large Magellanic Cloud and Magellanic Bridge to identify massive young stellar objects (YSOs), estimate “instantaneous” SFRs, and compare them to the S-K relation. These instantaneous SFRs are further compared to that estimated from integrated Hα and 24 μm luminosities to examine how SFRs vary on 10 Myr timescales. We have also used SINFONI near-IR integral field spectra of two Galactic mini-starbursts W31 and W43 to determine their underlying massive stellar content, estimate the SFRs, and compare to the S-K relation. To investigate evironmental effects on star formation, we have used complete YSO samples in the LMC and the Bridge to estimate global star formation efficiencies (SFE) in these two systems.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S237) ◽  
pp. 378-383
Author(s):  
Mark R. Krumholz

AbstractOne of the outstanding puzzles about star formation is why it proceeds so slowly. Giant molecular clouds convert only a few percent of their gas into stars per free-fall time, and recent observations show that this low star formation rate is essentially constant over a range of scales from individual cluster-forming molecular clumps in the Milky Way to entire starburst galaxies. This striking result is perhaps the most basic fact that any theory of star formation must explain. I argue that a model in which star formation occurs in virialized structures at a rate regulated by supersonic turbulence can explain this observation. The turbulence in turn is driven by star formation feedback, which injects energy to offset radiation from isothermal shocks and keeps star-forming structures from wandering too far from virial balance. This model is able to reproduce observational results covering a wide range of scales, from the formation times of young clusters to the extragalactic IR-HCN correlation, and makes additional quantitative predictions that will be testable in the next few years.


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