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We draw the K-band luminosity functions (CLFs) of young massive clusters (YMCs) hosted by 34 SUNBIRD targets to evaluate the impact of the host galaxy environment on their YMC properties. The depth and high resolution of the NIR images (PSF ∼ 0.1”) allow us to test whether CLF power-law slopes (α) of high star-forming galaxies are similar to those of gas-poor low star formation rate (SFR) galaxies. We found that α ranges between 1.53 and 2.41 with a median value of 1.87 ± 0.23. We also performed correlation searches between α and the host global properties and noticed that α decreases with an increasing SFR and SFR density. On sub-galactic scales, CLF slopes of cluster-rich galaxies differ by ∼0.5. Our NIR CLF analyses suggest that the extreme environment of high SFR galaxies such as the SUNBIRD sample is likely to affect the formation mechanisms of YMCs and hence to govern the ongoing small-scale SF processes of the host galaxy.
Azimuthal variations in HI velocity dispersion do not correlate with variations in the star formation rate per unit area, SFR/A, suggesting that local star formation does not increase HI turbulence significantly. These variations are determined for each pixel in HI and FUV maps of THINGS and LITTLE THINGS galaxies by subtracting the average radial profiles from the measured quantities. The kinetic energy density and HI surface density increase slightly with SFR/A, suggesting that feedback goes into pushing the local dense gas around without increasing the velocity dispersion. We suggest that star formation feedback does not promote large-scale stability against gravitational forces through turbulence regulation, and that gravitational energy from recurrent instabilities drives turbulence on galactic scales.
The evolution of giant molecular clouds (GMCs), which are the main sites of star formation, is essential for unraveling how stars form and how galaxies evolve. We analyzed the M33 CO(J = 2–1) data with spatial resolution of 39 pc obtained by ALMA-ACA 7 m array combined with IRAM 30 m. We identified 736 GMCs and classified them into three types; Type I: associated with no Hii regions, Type II: associated with Hii regions with the Hα luminosity L(Hα) < 1037.5 erg s-1, Type III: associated with Hii regions with L(Hα) > 1037.5erg s-1. We found that mass, size, and velocity dispersion of GMCs slightly increase in the order of Type I, II, and III GMCs. Type III GMCs mainly exist in the spiral arm, while many of Type I and Type II GMCs are distributed in the inter-arm. Assuming that the star formation proceeds steadily, we roughly estimated the total GMC lifetime of 30 Myr.
Star formation, from cold giant molecular clouds to diverse population of stars, is a complex process involving a wide variety of physical processes. In this work, we constrain the link between the gas-star formation cycle and several secular and environmental probe of galaxies. Specifically, we quantify the spatial correlation between molecular gas and star-forming regions for 49 nearby galaxies using the ALMA and narrowband-Hα imaging from the PHANGS survey. At the resolution (150 pc) at which the individual molecular clouds and star-forming regions can be identified, we find that molecular clouds and star-forming regions do not necessarily coexist. The decoupled molecular clouds and star-forming regions are a signature of evolutionary cycling and feedback of the star formation process. Therefore, the impact of galactic-scale conditions and environments must be considered for a complete understanding of how stars form in galaxies and how this process influences the evolution of the host galaxies.
We characterize the star formation going on in the inner kiloparsec region of the galaxy NGC 1386 as derived from the analysis of a multiwavelength dataset covering the optical, near-IR and mid-IR at subarsec resolution. We detect 61 point sources, distributed in a ring of 960 pc radius around the center of the galaxy. From SED fitting we conclude that these are low mass () young clusters, with age distributed from 1 to 10 Myr, with median at 3.6 Myr. Comparison of the Hα luminosity of the clusters derived from the Hα+[N ii] narrow band image with that expected from the fitted ionizing continuum shows that a large fraction of the ionizing photons escapes from the clusters. Moreover, a large fraction of these photons escapes from the regions around the star forming ring.
The interactions and mergers of gas rich galaxies are known to produce star formation which often leads to nuclear activity as well. The star formation is ideally mapped using FUV and NUV emission, since UV traces star formation for longer timescales compared to Hα emission. It is also emitted over a broader range of stellar masses in galaxies. In this study we present FUV and NUV observations of merging and interacting galaxies in our nearby universe conducted using the UVIT. We present the example of a merging system MRK212 that has dual AGN and the triple AGN system NGC7733-7734. The UV emission is associated with the tidal arms, individual nuclei, resonance rings, nuclear spirals as well as AGN/stellar feedback. We also find that radio emission is often closely associated with the UV emission, arising from both star formation as well as AGN activity, and perhaps kpc-scale AGN feedback. We find that a comparison of optical IFU imaging with FUV in NGC7733-7734 reveals unique properties associated with the interaction including the third AGN buried in a tidal arm.
IC 10 as a starburst dwarf galaxy in the Local Group (LG) has a large population of newly formed stars that are massive and intrinsically very bright in comparison with other LG galaxies. Using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) in the i-band and V-band, we performed an optical monitoring survey to identify the most evolved asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs) and red supergiant stars (RSGs) in this star-forming galaxy, which can be used to determine the star formation history (SFH). The E(B - V) as an effective factor for obtaining the precise magnitude of stars is measured for each star using a 2D dust map (SFD98) to obtain a total extinction for each star in both the i-band and V-band. We obtained the photometric catalog for 53579 stars within the area of 0.07 deg2 (13.5 kpc2), of which 762 stars are classified as variable candidates after removing the foreground stars and saturated ones from our catalog. To reconstruct the SFH for IC 10, we first identified 424 long-period variable (LPV) candidates within the area of two half-light radii (2rh) from the center of the galaxy. We estimated the recent star formation rate (SFR) at ∼ 0.32 yr-1 for a constant metallicity Z = 0.0008, showing the galaxy is currently undergoing high levels of star formation. Also, a total stellar mass of is obtained within 2rh for that metallicity.
We study the effect of minor mergers on star formation using simulations. We use GADGET4 code which has both collisionless and hydrodynamical particles. Our goal is to establish a relation between gas percentage present in the galaxies and the star formation in the merged galaxy. We use 1:10 minor mergers and we run the isolated simulations with varying gas percentages in the primary galaxy. We observe that the gas particles convert into stars due to the impact of the minor merger. As the gas percentage increases in the primary disk of the galaxy, more number of stars are formed. We also observed that newly formed star particles settle down in the disk of the primary galaxy and increase the thickness of the disk. We also observe that the thickness of the stellar disk containing the old stars also increases due to the impact of the merger.
How galaxies replenish their gas supply in order to sustain star formation, is a research topic of many of the new and upcoming neutral atomic hydrogen (Hi) surveys on the SKA precursor instruments. This replenishment, or accretion, of gas in the form of Hi is likely to occur at column densities one or two orders of magnitude below previous observational limits and it has, so far, not been unambiguously detected. We present recent deep Hi observations of NGC 5068, an isolated nearby star-forming galaxy observed by MeerKAT as part of the MHONGOOSE survey. This survey is the deepest Hi survey of nearby galaxies until the advent of the SKA and is reaching column densities of resolution. The combination of the resolution and sensitivity of the MeerKAT HI data have revealed “fingers” of low column density gas extending out from the main Hi disk of the galaxy. While the origin of these fingers remains a mystery for now, the dynamics of the main galaxy disk and the outer disk in which the fingers are located, as well as the morphology of the fingers, does not seem to suggest a previous merger event.
The formation of the global stellar system of galaxies are studied through the circular velocity curves of CALIFA nearby galaxies by sequencing the depth and size of the central gravitation-potential vessel and its dynamical mass, relative to the masses of the stellar system and of the parent halo, with the population or age parameters, to explore the dynamical characteristics of the dissipative contracting baryonic matter.
Jellyfish galaxies are starburst galaxies with ram-pressure-stripped tails and blue star-forming knots. These galaxies show a snapshot of star formation enhancement triggered by ram pressure stripping (RPS), being important targets for studying the RPS-induced star formation in gas-rich galaxies. Here we investigate the star formation activity of five jellyfish galaxies in massive clusters, using Gemini GMOS/IFU observations. From the Hα-derived star formation rates (SFRs), we find that our sample shows higher SFR excess to the star formation main sequence than the jellyfish galaxies in low-mass clusters. From the compiled sample of jellyfish galaxies in low-mass to high-mass host clusters, we suggest that the star formation activity of jellyfish galaxies has positive correlations with host cluster mass and degree of RPS. These relationships imply that higher ram pressure environments tend to trigger stronger starbursts in jellyfish galaxies in the early stage of RPS.
At least half of the local galaxies reside in galaxy groups, which indicates that the group is the common environment where galaxies evolve. Therefore, it is important to probe how significantly galaxies are affected by group environmental processes, in order to obtain a better understanding of galaxy evolution. We carried out a new CO imaging survey for 31 galaxies in the IC 1459 and NGC 4636 groups, using the Atacama Compact Array, to study the effect of the group environment on the molecular gas properties and the star formation activity. With our resolved CO data, combined with high-resolution H i images, we find asymmetric CO and H i distributions in the group galaxies. Compared to isolated galaxies, group members have relatively low molecular gas fraction and low star formation rate. These results suggest that the group environment can change the properties of cold gas components and star formation in group galaxies.
Radial colour gradients within galaxies arise from gradients of stellar age, metallicity, and dust reddening. Large samples of colour gradients from wide-area imaging surveys can be used to constrain galaxy formation models. Here we measured colour gradients for low-redshift galaxies using photometry from the 9th DESI Legacy Imaging Survey (LS), which reaches r ∼ 24 over ∼14,000 deg2. We investigate empirical relationships between colour gradients, M*, and sSFR. We compared our results with the prediction of the Illustris TNG-100 simulation using SDSS mock images.
In order to study gas evolution in the central region of a barred galaxy, we have performed numerical simulations of gas in the potential of the barred galaxy. We have found that the bar potential produces a gas ring within the central 1 kpc region. In the gas ring, active star and star cluster formations take place. Since the gas ring is dense enough to become self-gravitationally unstable, gas clouds form in the ring. These gas clouds interact gravitationally and collide with the other clouds. Such interaction and collision reduces their angular momentums effectively, and finally gas clouds fall into the galactic center. These processes triggers episodic gas fueling to the galactic center.
The standard galaxy formation model predicts that galaxies form within a Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halo and that galaxies are dominated by dark matter. However, recent observations have discovered dark-matter-deficient galaxies with much less dark matter mass than theoretical predictions, and the process of their formation has been discussed. Here, we investigate the physical processes of galaxy formation by collisions between gas-rich dark matter subhalos within the context of the CDM paradigm. We investigate the formation process of dark-matter-deficient galaxies by running three-dimensional simulations of the collision process between dark matter subhalos (DMSHs) with the same mass of 109M⊙ colliding the velocity of 100 km s−1. We then compared the effect of different supernova feedback models, the subgrid physics of the simulation, on the collision-induced formation of galaxies. The results show that the strong feedback model ejects gas out of the system more efficiently than the weak feedback model, leading to lower star formation rates and the formation of a more extended galaxy. Finally, dark-matter-deficient galaxies with stellar masses of ∼ 107M⊙ and ∼ 108M⊙ are formed in the weak and strong feedback models, respectively.
Recent integral-field spectroscopy observations have revealed that thick- and thin-disk star-formation histories are regulated by the interplay of internal and external processes. We analyze stellar-population properties of 24 spiral galaxies from the AURIGA zoom-in cosmological simulations, to offer a more in-depth interpretation of observable properties. We present edge-on maps of stellar age, metallicity and [Mg/Fe] abundance, and we extract the star-formation and chemical-evolution histories of thin and thick disks. Both show signs of the interplay between internal chemical enrichment and gas and star accretion. Thick disks show particularly complex stellar populations, including an in-situ component, formed from both slowly enriched and accreted more pristine gas, and an additional significant fraction of ex-situ stars.
This paper reports on four of the sources observed in the KAGONMA (KAgoshima Galactic Object survey with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope by Mapping in Ammonia lines) project for which mapping observations have been completed (KAG35, KAG45, KAG64, and KAG71). In this study, we compiled the analysis results of four sources for which mapping observations were completed in the KAGONMA project and statistically investigated the range to which star formation activity affects the molecular gas. In order to investigate the affected range, we analyzed the heating range by focusing on the temperature distribution of the molecular cloud and found that it is within about 3 pc. This suggests that direct star formation feedback in molecular clouds is very spatially limited.
The CO-to-H2 conversion factor (αCO) is crucial for accurate estimation of the amount and properties of molecular gas. However, αCO is known to vary with environmental conditions, and previous kpc-scale studies have revealed lower αCO in the centers of some barred galaxies, including NGC 3351, 3627, and 4321. We present ALMA Band 3, 6, and 7 observations toward the inner ∼2 kpc of these galaxies tracing 12CO, 13CO, and C18O lines at ∼100 pc resolution. We show that dynamical effects resulting from turbulence/shear can lead to substantially lower αCO in the bar-driven inflows of NGC 3351 due to lower optical depth. A clear, positive correlation between αCO and 12CO optical depth is seen in all three galaxy centers. We also find that the CO/13CO(2–1) ratio mainly traces the 12CO optical depth, and thus it may be a useful observable in predicting αCO variation in galaxy centers.
Integral field spectroscopic studies of galaxies in dense environments, such as clusters and groups of galaxies, have provided new insights for understanding how star formation proceeds, and quenches. I present the spatially resolved view of the star formation activity and its link with the multiphase gas in cluster galaxies based on MUSE and multi-wavelength data of the GASP survey. I discuss the link among the different scales (i.e. the link between the spatially resolved and the global star formation rate-stellar mass relation), the spatially resolved signatures and the quenching histories of jellyfish (progenitors) and post-starburst (descendants) galaxies in clusters. Finally, I discuss the multi-wavelength view of star-forming clumps both in galaxy disks and in the tails of stripped gas.
Green valley galaxies (by selection) exhibit lower specific star formation rates and are thought to be in the transition from the active star-forming phase to the quiescent state. Physical mechanisms responsible for the depleted star formation in green valley galaxies, however, are still under debate. Using the ALMA-MaNGA Quenching and STar formation (ALMaQUEST) CO observations, we study the so-called ‘resolved star formation scaling relations’, which describe relationships among surface densities of star formation rate, stellar mass, and molecular gas mass. By comparing the kpc-scale scaling relations between the main sequence and green valley galaxies, we are able to quantify if the deficit of star formation in green valley galaxies is driven by depleted molecular gas or inefficient star formation. And finally, we present our recent ALMA dense gas (HCN and HCO+) observations for a set of selected ALMaQUEST galaxies to discuss whether the green valley galaxies lack dense molecular gas or not.