Related papers: Simulating the ISM in Global Disk Galaxies
(ABRIDGED) We use hydrodynamical simulations of disk galaxies to study relations between star formation and properties of the molecular interstellar medium (ISM). We implement a model for the ISM that includes low-temperature (T<10^4K)…
We studied the effect of interstellar gas conditions on global galaxy simulations by considering three different models for the ISM. Our first model included only radiative cooling down to 300 K, our second model added an additional…
Star formation depends on the available gaseous "fuel" as well as galactic environment, with higher specific star formation rates where gas is predominantly molecular and where stellar (and dark matter) densities are higher. The partition…
We investigate the physical origin of the star formation scaling relations between the gas depletion time, the star-forming gas mass fraction, and the gas surface density, $\Sigma_{\rm gas}$, on kiloparsec scales, all of which are the key…
Understanding star formation is problematic as it originates in the large scale dynamics of a galaxy but occurs on the small scale of an individual star forming event. This paper presents the first numerical simulations to resolve the star…
Modelling global disc galaxies is a difficult task which has previously resulted in the small scale physics of the interstellar medium being greatly simplified. In this talk, I compare simulations of galaxies with different ISM properties…
There is a strong connection between the formation of a disk galaxy and the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM). Theoretical work has typically either focused on the cosmological buildup of a galaxy with a relatively crude model for…
We use vertically-resolved numerical hydrodynamic simulations to study star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) in galactic disks. We focus on outer disk regions where diffuse HI dominates, with gas surface densities Sigma_SFR=3-20…
One of the most puzzling properties of observed galaxies is the universality of the empirical correlation between the star formation rate and average gas surface density on kiloparsec scales (the Schmidt law). In this study I present…
In this work, we explore the link between star formation, turbulence and the thermal state of the multi-phase ISM. We analyse a suite of stratified box simulations modelling a realistic ISM that aims to probe environments similar to those…
We investigate the relationship between the star formation rate per unit area and the surface density of the ISM (the local Kennicutt-Schmitt law) using a simplified model of the ISM and a simple estimate of the star formation rate based on…
Feedback from massive stars is believed to play a critical role in shaping the galaxy mass function, the structure of the interstellar medium (ISM), and the low efficiency of star formation, but the exact form of the feedback is uncertain.…
The cold interstellar medium (ISM) plays a central role in the galaxy evolution process. It is the reservoir that fuels galaxy growth via star formation, the repository of material formed by these stars, and a sensitive tracer of internal…
The interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies is multiphase and cloudy, with stars forming in the very dense, cold gas found in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs). Simulating the evolution of an entire galaxy, however, is a computational problem…
When averaged over large scales, star formation in galaxies is observed to follow the empirical Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) law for surface densities above a constant threshold. While the observed law involves surface densities, theoretical…
We examine the pressure of the star-forming interstellar medium (ISM) of Milky-Way sized disk galaxies using fully cosmological SPH+N-body, high resolution simulations. These simulations include explicit treatment of metal-line cooling in…
The surface density of the star formation rate in different galaxies, as well as in different parts of a single galaxy, scales nonlinearly with the surface density of the total gas. This observationally established relation is known as the…
Gas processes affecting star formation are reviewed with an emphasis on gravitational and magnetic instabilities as a source of turbulence. Gravitational instabilities are pervasive in a multi-phase medium, even for sub-threshold column…
Galaxy interactions and mergers play a significant, but still debated and poorly understood role in the star formation history of galaxies. Numerical and theoretical models cannot yet explain the main properties of merger-induced…
As a first step to a more complete understanding of the local physical processes which determine star formation rates (SFRs) in the interstellar medium (ISM), we have performed controlled numerical experiments consisting of hydrodynamical…