Related papers: How Low Can Q Go?
We present a general star formation law where star formation rate depends upon efficiency $\alpha$, timescale $\tau$ of star formation, gas component $\sigma_{g}$ of surface mass density and a real exponent $n$. A given exponent $n$…
In this letter we study the mean sizes of Halpha clumps in turbulent disk galaxies relative to kinematics, gas fractions, and Toomre Q. We use 100~pc resolution HST images, IFU kinematics, and gas fractions of a sample of rare, nearby…
In this review, I discuss just three aspects of the stability and evolution of galactic discs. (1) I first review our understanding of the bar instability and how it can be controlled. Disc galaxies in which the orbital speed does not…
Observational evidence suggests that gas disk instability may be responsible for the formation of at least some gas giant exoplanets, particularly massive or distant gas giants. With regard to close-in gas giants, Boss (2017) used the…
Rotation curves constrain a galaxy's underlying mass density profile, under the assumption that the observed rotation produces a centripetal force that exactly balances the inward force of gravity. However, most rotation curves are measured…
We analyze the gravitational collapse of solids subject to gas drag in a protoplanetary disk. We also study the stirring of solids by turbulent fluctuations to determine the velocity dispersion and thickness of the midplane particle layer.…
We explore the gravitational instability of clumpy and turbulent gas discs, taking into account the Larson-type scaling laws observed in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and HI, as well as more general scaling relations. This degree of freedom…
Using high resolution, two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we investigate the evolution of a self-gravitating multi-phase interstellar medium in the central kiloparsec region of a galactic disk. We find that a gravitationally and…
Galaxy dynamics probes weak gravity at accelerations below the de Sitter scale of acceleration $a_{dS}=cH$, where $c$ is the velocity of light and $H$ is the Hubble parameter. Low and high redshift galaxies hereby offer a novel probe of…
We study the relationship between the stability level of late-type galaxy disks and their star-formation activity using integral-field gaseous and stellar kinematic data. Specifically, we compare the two-component (gas+stars) stability…
The majority of disk galaxies manifest spirals and/or bars that are believed to result from dynamical instabilities. However, some galaxies have featureless disks, which are therefore inferred to be dynamically stable. Yet despite many…
Context. We consider a simple self-gravitating disk, made of two fluid components characterized by different effective thermal speeds and interacting with one another only through gravity; two-component models of this type have often been…
Comprehensive observations of galaxy clusters suggest that gas deficiency in the galaxies could be due to ram pressure stripping due to the high-pressure intra-cluster medium acting on the galactic discs. The presence of gas in galaxies is…
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…
The standard Q criterion (with Q > 1) describes the local stability of a disc supported by rotation and random motion. Most astrophysical discs, however, are under the influence of an external gravitational field which can affect their…
Gravitational instability plays an important role in driving gas accretion in massive protostellar discs. Particularly strong is the global gravitational instability, which arises when the disc mass is of order 0.1 of the mass of the…
For a long time, gravitational instability in the disk of planetesimals has been suspected to be the main engine responsible for the beginning of dust growth, its advantage being that it provides for rapid growth. Its real importance in…
A general method is presented for constructing distribution functions for flat systems whose surface density and Toomre's Q number profile is given. The purpose of these functions is to provide plausible galactic models and assess their…
After their initial formation, disk galaxies are observed to be rotationally stable over periods of >6 Gyr, implying that any large velocity disturbances of stars and gas clouds are damped rapidly on the timescale of their rotation.…
High-redshift star-forming galaxies often have irregular morphologies with {\it giant clumps} containing up to $10^{8-9}$ solar masses of gas and stars. The origin and evolution of giant clumps are debated both theoretically and…