Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-10-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
34 pages, 23 figures, submitted to MNRAS. Movies of the simulations are available at https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~phopkins/Sit
Scientific paper
We present numerical methods for including stellar feedback in galaxy-scale simulations. We include heating by SNe (I & II), gas recycling and shock-heating from O-star & AGB winds, HII photoionization, and radiation pressure from stellar photons. The energetics and time-dependence are taken directly from stellar evolution models. We implement these in simulations with pc-scale resolution, modeling galaxies from SMC-like dwarfs and MW analogues to massive z~2 starburst disks. Absent feedback, gas cools and collapses without limit. With feedback, the ISM reaches a multi-phase steady state in which GMCs continuously form, disperse, and re-form. Our primary results include: (1) Star forming galaxies generically self-regulate at Toomre Q~1. Most of the volume is in diffuse hot gas with most of the mass in dense GMC complexes. The phase structure and gas mass at high densities are much more sensitive probes of stellar feedback physics than integrated quantities (Toomre Q or gas velocity dispersion). (2) Different feedback mechanisms act on different scales: radiation & HII pressure are critical to prevent runaway collapse of dense gas in GMCs. SNe and stellar winds dominate the dynamics of volume-filling hot gas; however this primarily vents out of the disk. (3) The galaxy-averaged SFR is determined by feedback. For given feedback efficiency, restricting star formation to molecular gas or modifying the cooling function has little effect; but changing feedback mechanisms directly translates to shifts off the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. (4) Self-gravity leads to marginally-bound GMCs with an ~M^-2 mass function with a cutoff at the Jeans mass; they live a few dynamical times before being disrupted by stellar feedback and turn ~1-10% of their mass into stars (increasing from dwarfs through starburst galaxies). Low-mass GMCs are preferentially unbound.
Hopkins Philip F.
Murray Norman
Quataert Eliot
No associations
LandOfFree
The Structure of the Interstellar Medium of Star Forming Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Structure of the Interstellar Medium of Star Forming Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Structure of the Interstellar Medium of Star Forming Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-84459