2015ApJ...804...54E -
Astrophys. J., 804, 54 (2015/May-1)
On the functional form of the universal star-formation law.
ESCALA A.
Abstract (from CDS):
We study the functional form of the star-formation law using the Vaschy-Buckingham Pi theorem. We find that it should have the form {dot}Σ* ∝ sqrt(G/L)Σgas3/2, where L is a characteristic length that is related to an integration scale. With a reasonable estimate for L, we find that galaxies of different types and redshifts, including low-surface-brightness galaxies and individual star-forming regions in our Galaxy, obey this single star-formation law. We also find that, depending on the assumption for L, this star-formation law adopts different formulations of {dot}Σ* scaling that are widely studied in the literature: Σgas3/2, Σgas/torb, Σgas/tff and Σgas2/νturb. We also study secondary controlling parameters of the star-formation law based on the current evidence from numerical simulations, and we find that for galaxies the star-formation efficiency should be controlled, at least, by the turbulent Toomre parameter and the sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: formation - stars: formation - stars: general
Simbad objects:
2
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