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Register a new userHow galactic environment regulates star formation
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Authors
Sharon E. Meidt
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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 regulation of star formation in galaxies. In the presence of external pressure, the pressure gradient set up within a self-gravitating isothermal cloud leads to a non-uniform density distribution. Thus the local environment of a cloud influences its internal structure. In the simple equilibrium model, the fraction of gas at high density in the cloud interior is determined simply by the cloud surface density, which is itself inherited from the pressure in the immediate surroundings. This idea is tested using measurements of the properties of local clouds, which are found to show remarkable agreement with the simple equilibrium model. The model also naturally predicts the star formation relation observed on cloud scales and, at the same time, provides a mapping between this relation and the closer-to-linear molecular star formation relation measured on larger scales in galaxies. The key is that pressure regulates not only the molecular content of the ISM but also the cloud surface density. I provide a straightforward prescription for the pressure regulation of star formation that can be directly implemented in numerical models. Predictions for the dense gas fraction and star formation efficiency measured on large-scales within galaxies are also presented, establishing the basis for a new picture of star formation regulated by galactic environment.
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A brief overview of recent advances in the study of star formation in the Galactic Center (GC) environment is presented. Particular attention is paid to new insights concerning the suppression of star formation in GC molecular clouds. Another focus is the question whether the GC can be used as a template for the understanding of starburst galaxies in the nearby and distant universe: this must be done with care. Some of the particular conditions in the center of the Milky Way do not necessarily play a role in starburst galaxies.
We investigate the triggering of star formation in clouds that form in Galactic scale flows as the ISM passes through spiral shocks. We use the Lagrangian nature of SPH simulations to trace how the star forming gas is gathered into self-gravitating cores that collapse to form stars. Large scale flows that arise due to Galactic dynamics create shocks of order 30 km/s that compress the gas and form dense clouds $(n> $several $times 10^2$ cm$^{-3}$) in which self-gravity becomes relevant. These large-scale flows are necessary for creating the dense physical conditions for gravitational collapse and star formation. Local gravitational collapse requires densities in excess of $n>10^3$ cm$^{-3}$ which occur on size scales of $approx 1$ pc for low-mass star forming regions ($M<100 M_{odot}$), and up to sizes approaching 10 pc for higher-mass regions ($M>10^3 M_{odot}$). Star formation in the 250 pc region lasts throughout the 5 Myr timescale of the simulation with a star formation rate of $approx 10^{-1} M_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$. In the absence of feedback, the efficiency of the star formation per free-fall time varies from our assumed 100 % at our sink accretion radius to values of $< 10^{-3}$ at low densities.
We show that the mass fraction f_atm = 1.35*MHI/M of neutral atomic gas (HI and He) in isolated local disk galaxies of baryonic mass M is well described by a straightforward stability model for flat exponential disks. In the outer disk parts, where gas at the characteristic dispersion of the warm neutral medium is stable in the sense of Toomre (1964), the disk consists of neutral atomic gas; conversely the inner part where this medium would be Toomre-unstable, is dominated by stars and molecules. Within this model, f_atm only depends on a global stability parameter q=j*sigma/(GM), where j is the baryonic specific angular momentum of the disk and sigma the velocity dispersion of the atomic gas. The analytically derived first-order solution f_atm = min{1,2.5q^1.12} provides a good fit to all plausible rotation curves. This model, with no free parameters, agrees remarkably well (+-0.2 dex) with measurements of f_atm in isolated local disk galaxies, even with galaxies that are extremely HI-rich or HI-poor for their mass. The finding that f_atm increases monotonically with q for pure stability reasons offers a powerful intuitive explanation for the mean variation of f_atm with M: in a cold dark matter universe galaxies are expected to follow j~M^(2/3), which implies the average scaling q~M^(-1/3) and hence f_atm~M^(-0.37), in agreement with observations.
The star formation rate in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is an order of magnitude lower than predicted according to star formation relations that have been calibrated in the disc of our own and nearby galaxies. Understanding how and why star formation appears to be different in this region is crucial if we are to understand the environmental dependence of the star formation process. Here, we present the detection of a sample of high-mass cores in the CMZs dust ridge that have been discovered with the Submillimeter Array as part of the CMZoom survey. These cores range in mass from ~ 50 - 2150 Msun within radii of 0.1 - 0.25 pc. All appear to be young (pre-UCHII), meaning that they are prime candidates for representing the initial conditions of high-mass stars and sub-clusters. We report that at least two of these cores (c1 and e1) contain young, high-mass protostars. We compare all of the detected cores with high-mass cores in the Galactic disc and find that they are broadly similar in terms of their masses and sizes, despite being subjected to external pressures that are several orders of magnitude greater - ~ 10^8 K/cm^3, as opposed to ~ 10^5 K/cm^3. The fact that > 80% of these cores do not show any signs of star-forming activity in such a high-pressure environment leads us to conclude that this is further evidence for an increased critical density threshold for star formation in the CMZ due to turbulence.
Research on Galactic Center star formation is making great advances, in particular due to new data from interferometers spatially resolving molecular clouds in this environment. These new results are discussed in the context of established knowledge about the Galactic Center. Particular attention is paid to suppressed star formation in the Galactic Center and how it might result from shallow density gradients in molecular clouds.
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