Related papers: Star Formation Timescales and the Schmidt Law
This paper discusses how cosmic gas accretion controls star formation, and summarizes the physical properties expected for the cosmic gas accreted by galaxies. The paper also collects observational evidence for gas accretion sustaining star…
Star formation in galaxies is regulated by the heating and cooling in the interstellar medium. In particular, the processing of molecular gas into stars will depend strongly on the ratio of gas heating to gas cooling in the neutral gas…
Using reconstructed galaxy star formation histories, we calculate the instantaneous efficiency of galaxy star formation (i.e., the star formation rate divided by the baryon accretion rate) from $z=8$ to the present day. This efficiency…
We use simple analytic reasoning to identify physical processes that drive the evolution of the cosmic star formation density in cold dark matter universes. Based on our analysis, we formulate a model to characterise the redshift dependence…
The relation between the Star Formation Rate (SFR) and stellar mass (${\rm M}_{\star}$) of galaxies represents a fundamental constraint on galaxy formation and has been studied extensively both in observations and cosmological simulations.…
We present a demographic analysis of integrated star formation and gas properties for a sample of galaxies representative of the overall population at z~0. This research was undertaken in order to characterise the nature of star formation…
The global Schmidt law of star formation provides a power-law relation between the surface densities of star-formation rate (SFR) and gas, and successfully explains plausible scenarios of galaxy formation and evolution. However, star…
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…
Star-formation rates (SFR) of disk galaxies strongly correlate with stellar mass, with a small dispersion in SSFR at fixed mass, sigma~0.3 dex. With such small scatter this star-formation main sequence (SFMS) has been interpreted as…
The relationship between the star formation rate surface density and the molecular gas surface density in galaxies is key to understanding galaxy evolution. To investigate the molecular Kennicutt-Schmidt (K-S) relation and its dependence on…
Star formation in disk galaxies is observed to follow the empirical Kennicutt-Schmidt law, a power-law relationship between the surface density of gas ($\Sigma_{gas}$) [$\textrm{M}_{\odot}\; \textrm{kpc}^{-2}$] and the star formation rate…
We investigate the structure of galaxies formed in a suite of high-resolution cosmological simulations. Consistent with observations of high-redshift galaxies, our simulated galaxies show irregular, prolate shapes, which are dominated by…
We have used a large sample of low-inclination spiral galaxies with radially-resolved optical and near-infrared photometry to investigate trends in star formation history with radius as a function of galaxy structural parameters. A maximum…
The molecular gas content of local early-type galaxies is constrained and discussed in relation to their evolution. First, as part of the Atlas3D survey, we present the first complete, large (260 objects), volume-limited single-dish survey…
The rate at which interstellar gas is converted into stars, and its dependence on environment, is one of the pillars on which our understanding of the visible Universe is build. We present a comparison of the surface density of young stars…
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…
Star formation (SF) laws are fundamental relations between the gas content of a galaxy and its star formation rate (SFR) and play key roles in galaxy evolution models. In this paper, we present new empirical SF laws of disc galaxies based…
Here we explore the evolution of galaxy ensembles at early times by writing the in situ stellar mass growth of galaxies purely as a stationary stochastic (e.g., quasi-steady state) process. By combining the mathematics of such processes…
Recent studies of galaxies ~2-3 Gyr after the Big Bang have revealed large, turbulent rotating systems. The existence of well-ordered rotation in galaxies during this peak epoch of cosmic star formation may suggest that gas accretion…
We probe the star formation properties of the gas in AzTEC-1 in the COSMOS field, one of the best resolved and brightest starburst galaxies at $z \approx 4.3$, forming stars at a rate > 1000 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$. Using…