Star formation in CALIFA survey perturbed galaxies – I. Effects of tidal interactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 4370-4393
Author(s):  
A Morales-Vargas ◽  
J P Torres-Papaqui ◽  
F F Rosales-Ortega ◽  
S F Sánchez ◽  
M Chow-Martínez ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We explore the effects of tidal interactions on star formation (SF) by analysing a sample of CALIFA survey galaxies. The sample consists of tidally and non-tidally perturbed galaxies whose star-forming regions are paired at the closest stellar mass surface densities, even between the same galaxy types. The regions are then compared, both on the resolved star-formation main sequence (SFMS) plane and in annular property profiles. Star-forming regions in tidally perturbed galaxies exhibit flatter SFMS slopes compared to star-forming regions in non-tidally perturbed galaxies. Despite the fact that the annular profiles show star-forming regions in tidally perturbed galaxies as being mostly older, their SF properties are never reduced against those of non-tidally perturbed galaxies. Star-forming regions in non-tidally perturbed galaxies are better candidates for SF suppression (quenching). The lowered SF with increasing stellar mass density in tidally perturbed galaxies may suggest a lower dependence of SF on stellar mass. Though the SFMS slopes, either flatter or steeper, are found independent of stellar mass density, the effect of global stellar mass cannot be ignored when distinguishing between galaxy types. Since a phenomenon or property other than local/global stellar mass may be taking part in the modulation of SF, the integrated SF properties are related to the tidal perturbation parameter. We find weak, but detectable, positive correlations for perturbed galaxies suggesting that tidal perturbations induced by close companions increase the gas accretion rates of these objects.

Author(s):  
A Morales-Vargas ◽  
J P Torres-Papaqui ◽  
F F Rosales-Ortega ◽  
M Chow-Martínez ◽  
J J Trejo-Alonso ◽  
...  

Abstract Galaxy evolution is generally affected by tidal interactions. Firstly, in this series, we reported several effects which suggest that tidal interactions contribute to regulating star formation (SF). To confirm that so, we now compare stellar mass assembly histories and SF look-back time annular profiles between CALIFA survey tidally and non-tidally perturbed galaxies. We pair their respective star-forming regions at the closest stellar mass surface densities to reduce the influence of stellar mass. The assembly histories and annular profiles show statistically significant differences so that higher star formation rates characterize regions in tidally perturbed galaxies. These regions underwent a more intense (re)activation of SF in the last 1 Gyr. Varying shapes of the annular profiles also reflect fluctuations between suppression and (re)activation of SF. Since gas-phase abundances use to be lower in more actively than in less actively star-forming galaxies, we further explore the plausible presence of metal-poor gas inflows able to dilute such abundances. The resolved relations of oxygen (O) abundance, with stellar mass density and with total gas fraction, show slightly lower O abundances for regions in tidally perturbed galaxies. The single distributions of O abundances statistically validate that so. Moreover, from a metallicity model based on stellar feedback, the mass rate differentials (inflows−outflows) show statistically valid higher values for regions in tidally perturbed galaxies. These differentials, and the metal fractions from the population synthesis, suggest dominant gas inflows in these galaxies. This dominance, and the differences in SF through time, confirm the previously reported effects of tidal interactions on SF.


Author(s):  
P Bonfini ◽  
A Zezas ◽  
M L N Ashby ◽  
S P Willner ◽  
A Maragkoudakis ◽  
...  

Abstract We constrain the mass distribution in nearby, star-forming galaxies with the Star Formation Reference Survey (SFRS), a galaxy sample constructed to be representative of all known combinations of star formation rate (SFR), dust temperature, and specific star formation rate (sSFR) that exist in the Local Universe. An innovative two-dimensional bulge/disk decomposition of the 2MASS/Ks-band images of the SFRS galaxies yields global luminosity and stellar mass functions, along with separate mass functions for their bulges and disks. These accurate mass functions cover the full range from dwarf galaxies to large spirals, and are representative of star-forming galaxies selected based on their infra-red luminosity, unbiased by AGN content and environment. We measure an integrated luminosity density j = 1.72 ± 0.93 × 109 L⊙  h−1 Mpc−3 and a total stellar mass density ρM = 4.61 ± 2.40 × 108 M⊙  h−1 Mpc−3. While the stellar mass of the average star-forming galaxy is equally distributed between its sub-components, disks globally dominate the mass density budget by a ratio 4:1 with respect to bulges. In particular, our functions suggest that recent star formation happened primarily in massive systems, where they have yielded a disk stellar mass density larger than that of bulges by more than 1 dex. Our results constitute a reference benchmark for models addressing the assembly of stellar mass on the bulges and disks of local (z = 0) star-forming galaxies.


Author(s):  
J K Barrera-Ballesteros ◽  
S F Sánchez ◽  
T Heckman ◽  
T Wong ◽  
A Bolatto ◽  
...  

Abstract The processes that regulate star formation are essential to understand how galaxies evolve. We present the relation between star formation rate density, ΣSFR , and hydrostatic midplane pressure, Ph , for 4260 star-forming regions of kpc size located in 96 galaxies included in the EDGE-CALIFA survey covering a wide range of stellar masses and morphologies. We find that these two parameters are tightly correlated, showing a smaller scatter in comparison to other star-forming relations. A power-law, with a slightly sub-linear index, is a good representation of this relation. Its residuals show a significant anti-correlation with both stellar age and metallicity whereas the total stellar mass may also play a secondary role in shaping the ΣSFR - Ph relation. For actively star-forming regions we find that the effective feedback momentum per unit stellar mass (p*/m*), measured from the Ph/ΣSFR ratio increases with Ph. The median value of this ratio for all the sampled regions is larger than the expected momentum just from supernovae explosions. Morphology of the galaxies, including bars, does not seem to have a significant impact in the ΣSFR - Ph relation. Our analysis indicates that local ΣSFR self-regulation comes mainly from momentum injection to the interstellar medium from supernovae explosions. However, other mechanisms in disk galaxies may also play a significant role in shaping the ΣSFR at kpc scales. Our results also suggest that Ph is the main parameter that modulates star formation at kpc scales, rather than individual components of the baryonic mass.


1999 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 261-270
Author(s):  
Noah Brosch ◽  
Ana Heller ◽  
Elchanan Almoznino

AbstractWe studied the morphology of star formation in dwarf irregular galaxies and found that, in general, this takes place on one side of a galaxy and far from the center. This is mainly true for low surface brightness galaxies; in high surface brightness dwarf irregulars the star formation tends to be more centrally concentrated, as well as being more intense. We discuss possible star formation triggers in dwarf irregular galaxies, and evaluate the reasons for the peculiar distribution of star forming regions of these galaxies. Stochastic star formation, interactions with external gas, and tidal interactions appear to be ruled out as responsible for the asymmetric pattern of star formation. We conclude that asymmetry of a dark matter halo or of an asymmetric underlying stellar distribution may trigger an asymmetric pattern of star formation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. L87-L91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maan H Hani ◽  
Christopher C Hayward ◽  
Matthew E Orr ◽  
Sara L Ellison ◽  
Paul Torrey ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The correlation between galaxies’ integrated stellar masses and star formation rates (the ‘star formation main sequence’, SFMS) is a well-established scaling relation. Recently, surveys have found a relationship between the star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass surface densities on kpc and sub-kpc scales (the ‘resolved SFMS’, rSFMS). In this work, we demonstrate that the rSFMS emerges naturally in Feedback In Realistic Environments 2 (FIRE-2) zoom-in simulations of Milky Way-mass galaxies. We make SFR and stellar mass maps of the simulated galaxies at a variety of spatial resolutions and star formation averaging time-scales and fit the rSFMS using multiple methods from the literature. While the absolute value of the SFMS slope (αMS) depends on the fitting method, the slope is steeper for longer star formation time-scales and lower spatial resolutions regardless of the fitting method employed. We present a toy model that quantitatively captures the dependence of the simulated galaxies’ αMS on spatial resolution and use it to illustrate how this dependence can be used to constrain the characteristic mass of star-forming clumps.


2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (4) ◽  
pp. 5416-5440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Tacchella ◽  
Benedikt Diemer ◽  
Lars Hernquist ◽  
Shy Genel ◽  
Federico Marinacci ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Using the IllustrisTNG simulations, we investigate the connection between galaxy morphology and star formation in central galaxies with stellar masses in the range 109–1011.5 M⊙. We quantify galaxy morphology by a kinematical decomposition of the stellar component into a spheroidal and a disc component (spheroid-to-total ratio, S/T) and by the concentration of the stellar mass density profile (C82). S/T is correlated with stellar mass and star formation activity, while C82 correlates only with stellar mass. Overall, we find good agreement with observational estimates for both S/T and C82. Low- and high-mass galaxies are dominated by random stellar motion, while only intermediate-mass galaxies (M⋆ ≈ 1010–1010.5 M⊙) are dominated by ordered rotation. Whereas higher mass galaxies are typical spheroids with high concentrations, lower mass galaxies have low concentration, pointing to different formation channels. Although we find a correlation between S/T and star formation activity, in the TNG model galaxies do not necessarily change their morphology when they transition through the green valley or when they cease their star formation, this depending on galaxy stellar mass and morphological estimator. Instead, the morphology (S/T and C82) is generally set during the star-forming phase of galaxies. The apparent correlation between S/T and star formation arises because earlier forming galaxies had, on average, a higher S/T at a given stellar mass. Furthermore, we show that mergers drive in situ bulge formation in intermediate-mass galaxies and are responsible for the recent spheroidal mass assembly in the massive galaxies with M⋆ > 1011 M⊙. In particular, these massive galaxies assemble about half of the spheroidal mass while star-forming and the other half through mergers while quiescent.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (14) ◽  
pp. 251-251
Author(s):  
Richard S. Ellis ◽  
Daniel P. Stark ◽  
Johan Richard ◽  
Andrew J. Bunker ◽  
Eiichi E. Egami ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent progress in measuring the optical depth of neutral hydrogen in distant quasars and that of electron scattering of microwave background photons suggests that most of the sources responsible for cosmic re-ionisation probably lie in the redshift interval 6 to 10. We present two new observational results which, together, provide valuable constraints on the contribution from star-forming sources in this redshift interval. First, using a large sample of v-band dropouts with unconfused Spitzer-IRAC detections, we determine the integrated stellar mass density at z = 5. This provides a valuable ‘integral constraint’ on past star formation. It seems difficult to reconcile the observed stellar mass at z = 5 with the low abundance of luminous i-z- and J-band dropouts in deep Hubble Space Telescope data. Accordingly, we explore whether less luminous star-forming sources in the redshift interval 6 to 10 might be the dominant cause of cosmic re-ionization. In the second component of our research, we report on the results of two surveys for weak Lymanα emitters and z- and J-band dropouts highly-magnified by foreground lensing clusters. Although some promising z = 8–9 candidates are found, it seems unlikely that low luminosity sources in this redshift interval can dominate cosmic reionization. If our work is substantiated by more extensive and precise surveys, the bulk of the re-ionizing photons may come from yet earlier sources lying at redshifts z>10.


2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A60 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cañameras ◽  
N. P. H. Nesvadba ◽  
M. Limousin ◽  
H. Dole ◽  
R. Kneissl ◽  
...  

We report the discovery of a molecular wind signature from a massive intensely star-forming clump of a few 109 M⊙, in the strongly gravitationally lensed submillimeter galaxy “the Emerald” (PLCK_G165.7+49.0) at z = 2.236. The Emerald is amongst the brightest high-redshift galaxies on the submillimeter sky, and was initially discovered with the Planck satellite. The system contains two magnificient structures with projected lengths of 28.5″ and 21″ formed by multiple, near-infrared arcs, falling behind a massive galaxy cluster at z = 0.35, as well as an adjacent filament that has so far escaped discovery in other wavebands. We used HST/WFC3 and CFHT optical and near-infrared imaging together with IRAM and SMA interferometry of the CO(4–3) line and 850 μm dust emission to characterize the foreground lensing mass distribution, construct a lens model with LENSTOOL, and calculate gravitational magnification factors between 20 and 50 in most of the source. The majority of the star formation takes place within two massive star-forming clumps which are marginally gravitationally bound and embedded in a 9 × 1010 M⊙, fragmented disk with 20% gas fraction. The stellar continuum morphology is much smoother and also well resolved perpendicular to the magnification axis. One of the clumps shows a pronounced blue wing in the CO(4–3) line profile, which we interpret as a wind signature. The mass outflow rates are high enough for us to suspect that the clump might become unbound within a few tens of Myr, unless the outflowing gas can be replenished by gas accretion from the surrounding disk. The velocity offset of –200 km s−1 is above the escape velocity of the clump, but not that of the galaxy overall, suggesting that much of this material might ultimately rain back onto the galaxy and contribute to fueling subsequent star formation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S321) ◽  
pp. 214-216
Author(s):  
Linda C. Watson

AbstractWe found that star-forming regions in extended ultraviolet (XUV) disks are generally consistent with the molecular-hydrogen Kennicutt-Schmidt law that applies within the inner, optical disk. This is true for star formation rates based on Hα + 24 μm data or FUV + 24 μm data. We estimated that the star-forming regions have ages of 1 − 7 Myr and propose that the presence or absence of molecular gas provides an additional “clock” that may help distinguish between aging and stochasticity as the explanation for the low Hα-to-FUV flux ratios in XUV disks. This contribution is a summary of the work originally presented in Watson et al. (2016).


2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A34
Author(s):  
G. Sabatini ◽  
S. Bovino ◽  
A. Giannetti ◽  
F. Wyrowski ◽  
M. A. Órdenes ◽  
...  

Context. Deuteration has been suggested to be a reliable chemical clock of star-forming regions due to its strong dependence on density and temperature changes during cloud contraction. In particular, the H3+ isotopologues (e.g. ortho-H2D+) seem to act as good proxies of the evolutionary stages of the star formation process. While this has been widely explored in low-mass star-forming regions, in the high-mass counterparts only a few studies have been pursued, and the reliability of deuteration as a chemical clock remains inconclusive. Aims. We present a large sample of o-H2D+ observations in high-mass star-forming regions and discuss possible empirical correlations with relevant physical quantities to assess its role as a chronometer of star-forming regions through different evolutionary stages. Methods. APEX observations of the ground-state transition of o-H2D+ were analysed in a large sample of high-mass clumps selected from the ATLASGAL survey at different evolutionary stages. Column densities and beam-averaged abundances of o-H2D+ with respect to H2, X(o-H2D+), were obtained by modelling the spectra under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. Results. We detect 16 sources in o-H2D+ and find clear correlations between X(o-H2D+) and the clump bolometric luminosity and the dust temperature, while only a mild correlation is found with the CO-depletion factor. In addition, we see a clear correlation with the luminosity-to-mass ratio, which is known to trace the evolution of the star formation process. This would indicate that the deuterated forms of H3+ are more abundant in the very early stages of the star formation process and that deuteration is influenced by the time evolution of the clumps. In this respect, our findings would suggest that the X(o-H2D+) abundance is mainly affected by the thermal changes rather than density changes in the gas. We have employed these findings together with observations of H13CO+, DCO+, and C17O to provide an estimate of the cosmic-ray ionisation rate in a sub-sample of eight clumps based on recent analytical work. Conclusions. Our study presents the largest sample of o-H2D+ in star-forming regions to date. The results confirm that the deuteration process is strongly affected by temperature and suggests that o-H2D+ can be considered a reliable chemical clock during the star formation processes, as proved by its strong temporal dependence.


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