How Universal is the SFR - H2 Relation?

It is a well established empirical fact that the surface density of the star formation rate, Sigma_SFR, strongly correlates with the surface density of molecular hydrogen, Sigma_H2, at least when averaged over large (~kpc) scales. Much less is known, however, if (and how) the Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation depends on environmental parameters, such as the metallicity or the UV radiation field in the interstellar medium (ISM). Furthermore, observations indicate that the scatter in the Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation increases rapidly with decreasing averaging scale. How the scale-dependent scatter is generated and how one recovers a tight ~ kpc scale Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation in the first place is still largely debated. Here, these questions are explored with hydrodynamical simulations that follow the formation and destruction of H2, include radiative transfer of UV radiation, and resolve the ISM on ~60 pc scales. We find that within the considered range of H2 surface densities (10-100 Msun/pc^2) the Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation is steeper in environments of low metallicity and/or high radiation fields (compared to the Galaxy), that the star formation rate at a given H2 surface density is larger, and the scatter is increased. Deviations from a universal Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation should be particularly relevant for high redshift galaxies or for low-metallicity dwarfs at z~0. We also find that the use of time-averaged SFRs produces a large, scale dependent scatter in the Sigma_SFR-Sigma_H2 relation. Given the plethora of observational data expected from upcoming surveys such as ALMA the scale-scatter relation may indeed become a valuable tool for determining the physical mechanisms connecting star formation and H2 formation.

The Build-Up of the Hubble Sequence in the COSMOS Field

We use ~8,600 >5e10 Msol COSMOS galaxies to study how the morphological mix of massive ellipticals, bulge-dominated disks, intermediate-bulge disks, bulge-less disks and irregular galaxies evolves from z=0.2 to z=1. The morphological evolution depends strongly on mass. At M>3e11 Msol, no evolution is detected in the morphological mix: ellipticals dominate since z=1, and the Hubble sequence has quantitatively settled down by this epoch. At the 1e11 Msol mass scale, little evolution is detected, which can be entirely explained with major mergers. Most of the morphological evolution from z=1 to z=0.2 takes place at masses 5e10 - 1e11 Msol, where: (i) The fraction of spirals substantially drops and the contribution of early-types increases. This increase is mostly produced by the growth of bulge-dominated disks, which vary their contribution from ~10% at z=1 to >30% at z=0.2 (cf. the elliptical fraction grows from ~15% to ~20%). Thus, at these masses, transformations from late- to early-types result in disk-less elliptical morphologies with a statistical frequency of only 30% - 40%. Otherwise, the processes which are responsible for the transformations either retain or produce a non-negligible disk component. (ii) The bulge-less disk galaxies, which contribute ~15% to the intermediate-mass galaxy population at z=1, virtually disappear by z=0.2. The merger rate since z=1 is too low to account for the disappearance of these massive bulge-less disks, which most likely grow a bulge via secular evolution.