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Register a new userA Multi-Scale Study of Star Formation in Messier 33
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For the Local Group Scd galaxy M 33 this paper presents a multi-scale study of the relationship between the monochromatic star formation rate (SFR) estimator based on 12 $mu$m emission and the total SFR estimator based on a combination of far-ultraviolet and 24 $mu$m emission. We show the 12 $mu$m emission to be a linear estimator of total SFR on spatial scales from 782 pc down to 49 pc, over almost four magnitudes in SFR. These results therefore extend to sub-kpc length scales the analogous results from other studies for global length scales. We use high-resolution HI and $^{12}mathrm{CO}(J=2-1)$ image sets from the literature to compare the star formation to the neutral gas. For the full range of length scales we find well-defined power-law relationships between 12 $mu$m-derived SFR surface densities and neutral gas surface densities. For the H$_mathrm{2}$ gas component almost all correlations are consistent with being linear. No evidence is found for a breakdown in the star formation law at small length scales in M 33 reported by other authors. We show that the average star formation efficiency in M 33 is roughly $10^{-9}$ yr$^{-1}$ and that it remains constant down to giant molecular cloud length scales. Toomre and shear-based models of the star formation threshold are shown to inaccurately account for the star formation activity in the inner disc of M 33. Finally, we clearly show that the HI saturation limit of $approx 9$ M$_{odot}$ pc$^{-2}$ reported in the literature for other galaxies is not an intrinsic property of M 33 - it is systematically introduced as an artefact of spatially smoothing the data.
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(Abridged) We study the properties of anisotropic and axisymmetric velocity ellipsoids from maps of the gas velocity dispersion in nearby galaxies. This data allow us to measure the azimuthal-to-radial axis ratio of gas velocity ellipsoids, which is a useful tool to study the structure of gaseous orbits in the disk. We also present the first estimates of perturbations in gas velocity dispersion maps by applying an alternative model that considers isotropic and asymmetric random motions. High-quality velocity dispersion maps of the atomic medium at various angular resolutions of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 33, are used to test the anisotropic and isotropic velocity models. The velocity dispersions of hundreds of individual molecular clouds are also analyzed. The HI velocity dispersion of M33 is systematically larger along the minor axis, and lower along the major axis. Isotropy is only possible if asymmetric motions are considered. Fourier transforms of the HI velocity dispersions reveal a bisymmetric mode which is mostly stronger than other asymmetric motions and aligned with the minor axis of the galaxy. Within the anisotropic and axisymmetric velocity model, the stronger bisymmetry is explained by a radial component that is larger than the azimuthal component of the ellipsoid of random motions, thus by gaseous orbits that are dominantly radial. The azimuthal anisotropy parameter is not strongly dependent on the choice of the vertical dispersion. The velocity anisotropy parameter of the molecular clouds is observed highly scattered. Perturbations such as HI spiral-like arms could be at the origin of the gas velocity anisotropy in M33. Further work is necessary to assess whether anisotropic velocity ellispsoids can also be invoked to explain the asymmetric gas random motions of other galaxies.
A new deep HI survey of the galaxy Messier 33 is presented, based on observations obtained at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. We observe a perturbed outer gas distribution and kinematics in M33, and confirm the disk warping as a significant kinematical twist of the major axis of the velocity field, though no strong tilt is measured, in agreement with previous work. Evidence for a new low brightness HI component with anomalous velocity is reported. It harbours a large velocity scatter, as its kinematics both exceeds and lags the rotation of the disk, and leaks in the forbidden velocity zone of apparent counter-rotation. The observations also reveal wide and multiple peak HI profiles which can be partly explained by crowded orbits in the framework of the warp model. Asymmetric motions are identified in the velocity field, as possible signatures of a lopsided potential and the warp. The mass distribution modeling of the hybrid Halpha-HI rotation curve favours a cuspy dark matter halo with a concentration in disagreement with the LambdaCDM dark halo mass-concentration relationship. The total mass enclosed in 23 kpc is 8 10^10 Msol, of which 11% are stars and gas. At the virial radius of the cuspy halo, the resulting total mass is 5 10^11 Msol, but with a baryonic mass fraction of 2% only. This strongly suggests a more realistic radius encompassing the total mass of M33 well smaller than the virial radius of the halo, maybe comparable to the size of the HI disk.
As part of a long-term project to revisit the kinematics and dynamics of the large disc galaxies of the Local Group, we present the first deep, wide-field (42 x 56) 3D-spectroscopic survey of the ionized gas disc of Messier 33. Fabry-Perot interferometry has been used to map its Ha distribution and kinematics at unprecedented angular resolution (<3) and resolving power (12600), with the 1.6m telescope at the Observatoire du Mont Megantic. The ionized gas distribution follows a complex, large-scale spiral structure, unsurprisingly coincident with the already-known spiral structures of the neutral and molecular gas discs. The kinematical analysis of the velocity field shows that the rotation center of the Ha disc is distant from the photometric center by 170 pc (sky projected distance) and that the kinematical major-axis position angle and disc inclination are in excellent agreement with photometric values. The Ha rotation curve agrees very well with the HI rotation curves for 0 < R < 6.5 kpc, but the Ha velocities are 10-20 km/s higher for R > 6.5 kpc. The reason for this discrepancy is not well understood. The velocity dispersion profile is relatively flat around 16 km/s, which is at the low end of velocity dispersions of nearby star-forming galactic discs. A strong relation is also found between the Ha velocity dispersion and the Ha intensity. Mass models were obtained using the Ha rotation curve but, as expected, the dark matter halos parameters are not very well constrained since the optical rotation curve only extends out to 8 kpc.
We have fit the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to mid-infrared (MIR) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for several nearby galaxies ($<$ 20 Mpc). Global, radial, and local photometric measurements are explored to better understand how SED-derived star formation histories (SFHs) and classic star formation rate (SFR) tracers manifest at different scales. Surface brightness profiles and radial SED fitting provide insight into stellar population gradients in stellar discs and haloes. A double exponential SFH model is used in the SED fitting to better understand the distributions of young vs. old populations throughout these galaxies. Different regions of a galaxy often have undergone very different SFHs, either in strength, rate, timing, or some combination of all these factors. An analysis of individual stellar complexes within these galaxies shows a relationship between the ages of stellar clusters and how these clusters are distributed throughout the galaxy. These star formation properties are presented alongside previously published HI observations to provide a holistic picture of a small sample of nearby star-forming galaxies. The results presented here show that there is a wide variety of star formation gradients and average stellar age distributions that can manifest in a $Lambda$CDM universe.
Does star formation proceed in the same way in large spirals such as the Milky Way and in smaller chemically younger galaxies? Earlier work suggests a more rapid transformation of H$_2$ into stars in these objects but (1) a doubt remains about the validity of the H$_2$ mass estimates and (2) there is currently no explanation for why star formation should be more efficient. M~33, a local group spiral with a mass $sim 10$% and a metallicity half that of the Galaxy, represents a first step towards the metal poor Dwarf Galaxies. We have searched for molecular clouds in the outer disk of M~33 and present here a set of detections of both $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO, including the only detections (for both lines) beyond the R$_{25}$ radius in a subsolar metallicity galaxy. The spatial resolution enables mass estimates for the clouds and thus a measure of the $N({rm H}_2) / I_{rm CO}$ ratio, which in turn enables a more reliable calculation of the H$_2$ mass. Our estimate for the outer disk of M~33 is $N({rm H}_2) / I_{rm CO(1-0)} sim 5 times 10^{20} ,{rm cm^{-2}/(K{rm km s^{-1}})}$ with an estimated uncertainty of a factor $le 2$. While the $^{12/13}$CO line ratios do not provide a reliable measure of $N({rm H}_2) / I_{rm CO}$, the values we find are slightly greater than Galactic and corroborate a somewhat higher $N({rm H}_2) / I_{rm CO}$ value. Comparing the CO observations with other tracers of the interstellar medium, no reliable means of predicting where CO would be detected was identified. In particular, CO detections were often not directly on local HI or FIR or H$alpha$ peaks, although generally in regions with FIR emission and high HI column density. The results presented here provide support for the quicker transformation of H$_2$ into stars in M~33 than in large local universe spirals.
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