Star formation in M 33: the radial and local relations with the gas

Abstract

In the Local Group spiral galaxy M33, we investigate the correlation between the star formation rate (SFR) surface density, Sigma_SFR, and the gas density Sigma_gas (molecular, atomic, and total). We also explore whether there are other physical quantities, such as the hydrostatic pressure and dust optical depth, which establish a good correlation with Sigma_SFR. We use the Ha, far-ultraviolet (FUV), and bolometric emission maps to infer the SFR locally at different spatial scales, and in radial bins using azimuthally averaged values. Most of the local analysis is done using the highest spatial resolution allowed by gas surveys, 180 pc. The Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) law, Sigma_SFR \propto (Sigma_gas)^n is analyzed by three statistical methods. At all spatial scales, with Ha emission as a SFR tracer, the KS indices n are always steeper than those derived with the FUV and bolometric emissions. We attribute this to the lack of Ha emission in low luminosity regions where most stars form in small clusters with an incomplete initial mass function at their high mass end. For azimuthally averaged values the depletion timescale for the molecular gas is constant, and the KS index is n_H2 = 1.1 +- 0.1. Locally, at a spatial resolution of 180 pc, the correlation between Sigma_SFR and Sigma_gas is generally poor, even though it is tighter with the molecular and total gas than with the atomic gas alone. Considering only positions where the CO J=1-0 line is above the 2-sigma detection threshold and taking into account uncertainties in Sigma_H2 and Sigma_SFR, we obtain a steeper KS index than obtained with radial averages: n_H2 = 2.22 +- 0.07 (for FUV and bolometric SFR tracers), flatter than that relative to the total gas (n_Htot = 2.59 +- 0.05). [abridged]