A LAW FOR STAR FORMATION IN GALAXIES

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/735/1/56· OSTI ID:21576521

Escala, Andres ^[1]

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1. Departamento de AstronomIa, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile)

We study the galactic-scale triggering of star formation. We find that the largest mass scale not stabilized by rotation, a well-defined quantity in a rotating system and with clear dynamical meaning, strongly correlates with the star formation rate in a wide range of galaxies. We find that this relation can be understood in terms of self-regulation toward marginal Toomre stability and the amount of turbulence allowed to sustain the system in this self-regulated quasi-stationary state. We test such an interpretation by computing the predicted star formation rates for a galactic interstellar medium characterized by a lognormal probability distribution function and find good agreement with the observed relation.

• OSTI ID: 21576521
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 735, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/735/1/56; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
GALAXIES
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
STABILITY
STAR EVOLUTION
TURBULENCE
EVOLUTION
SPACE