Related papers: The Single-Cloud Star Formation Relation
We investigate Schmidt's conjecture (i.e., that the star formation rate scales in a power-law fashion with the gas density) for four well-studied local molecular clouds (GMCs). Using the Bayesian methodology we show that a local Schmidt…
I review observational studies of the large-scale star formation process in nearby galaxies. A wealth of new multi-wavelength data provide an unprecedented view on the interplay of the interstellar medium and (young) stellar populations on…
We study properties of the interstellar medium, an ingredient of stars, and star formation activity, in four nearby galaxy pairs in the early and mid stages of interaction for both a galaxy scale and a kpc scale. The galaxy-scale…
We derive a metallicity dependent relation between the surface density of the star formation rate (Sigma_{SFR}) and the gas surface density (Sigma_{g}) in a feedback regulated model of star formation in galactic disks. In this model, star…
The Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation between the gas and the star formation rate (SFR) surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm gas}$-$\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$) is essential to understand star formation processes in galaxies. So far, it has been measured up…
Aims: The complexity of star formation at the physical scale of molecular clouds is not yet fully understood. We investigate the mechanisms regulating the formation of stars in different environments within nearby star-forming galaxies from…
We examined the relations between molecular gas surface density and star formation rate surface density in a 11 square degree region of the Galactic Plane. Dust continuum at 1.1 mm from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey and 22 micron…
The star formation rate per unit area correlates well with the gas surface density for different types of galaxies. However, this Kennicutt-Schmidt law has not yet been examined for a large, homogeneously selected sample of SMGs, which…
On galactic scales, the surface density of star formation appears to be well correlated with the surface density of molecular gas. This has lead many authors to suggest that there exists a causal relationship between the chemical state of…
In a new simple model I reconcile two contradictory views on the factors that determine the rate at which molecular clouds form stars -- internal structure vs. external, environmental influences -- providing a unified picture for the…
Volume density is a key physical quantity controlling the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and star formation, but it cannot be accessed directly by observations of molecular clouds. We aim at estimating the volume density…
It has been known for more than 30 years that star formation in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) is slow, in the sense that only ~1% of the gas forms stars every free-fall time. This result is entirely independent of any particular model of…
Recent observational results indicate that the functional shape of the spatially-resolved star formation-molecular gas density relation depends on the spatial scale considered. These results may indicate a fundamental role of sampling…
The Schmidt-Kennicutt relation links the surface densities of gas to the star formation rate in galaxies. The physical origin of this relation, and in particular its break, i.e. the transition between an inefficient regime at low gas…
In the Local Group spiral galaxy M33, we investigate the correlation between the star formation rate (SFR) surface density, Sigma_SFR, and the gas density Sigma_gas (molecular, atomic, and total). We also explore whether there are other…
We offer a simple parameterization of the rate of star formation in galaxies. In this new approach, we make explicit and decouple the timescales associated (a) with disruptive effects the star formation event itself, from (b) the timescales…
We present maps of 4 galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the J=2-1 emission of both CO and $^{13}$CO. We use an LTE analysis to derive maps of the CO excitation temperature and column density and the distribution of total molecular…
We explore the pitfalls which affect the comparison of the star-formation (SF) relation for nearby molecular clouds with that for distant compact molecular clumps. We show that both relations behave differently in the ($\Sigma_{gas}$,…
The star-forming ability of a molecular cloud depends on the fraction of gas it can cycle into the dense-phase. Consequently, one of the crucial questions in reconciling star-formation in clouds is to understand the factors that control…
A new analysis of high-resolution data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) for 5 luminous or ultra-luminous infrared galaxies gives a slope for the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation equal to $1.74^{+0.09}_{\rm -0.07}$…