New Star Formation Research Articles

Measuring the lifecycle of baryonic matter in the Large Magellanic Cloud with the Spitzer SAGE-LMC survey

AbstractThe recycling of matter between the interstellar medium (ISM) and stars are key evolutionary drivers of a galaxy's baryonic matter. The Spitzer wavelengths provide a sensitive probe of circumstellar and interstellar dust and hence, allow us to study the physical processes of the ISM, the formation of new stars and the injection of mass by evolved stars and their relationships on the galaxy-wide scale of the LMC. Due to its proximity, favorable viewing angle, multi-wavelength information, and measured tidal interactions with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), the LMC is uniquely suited for surveying the agents of a galaxy's evolution (SAGE), the ISM and stars. The SAGE-LMC project is measuring these key transition points in the life cycle of baryonic matter in the LMC. Here we present a connective view of the preliminary quantities estimated from SAGE-LMC for the total mass of the ISM, the galaxy wide star formation rate and the current stellar mass loss return. For context, we compare these numbers to the LMC's stellar mass.

Groundstate OH masers associated with Herbig-Haro objects

AbstractJets from newly-formed stars plow into the surrounding ISM, creating nebulous regions known as Herbig-Haro (HH) objects. Signatures of C-type shocks have been found in many HH objects. Models of shock-excited 1720-MHz OH masers associated with SNRs suggest that the masers could be signposts of C-type shocks. We have conducted a 1720MHz survey towards a number of HH objects to see if any shock-excited masers occur in association with these objects. Some results of our search are reported. When present, the 1720-MHz OH line can occur as emission, absorption or as P Cygni profiles. OH mainline emission is found in many of our sources. We have identified several potential 1720-, 1665- and 1667-MHz OH masers.

Galaxies in SDSS and DEEP2: A Quiet Life on the Blue Sequence?

In the six billion years between redshifts z=1 and z=0.1, galaxies change due to the aging of their stellar populations, the formation of new stars, and mergers with other galaxies. Here I explore the relative importance of these various effects, finding that while mergers are likely to be important for the red galaxy sequence they are unlikely to affect more than 10% of the blue galaxy sequence. I compare the galaxy population at redshift z=0.1 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to that at z=1 from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2. Galaxies are bluer at z=1: the blue sequence by about 0.3 mag and the red sequence by about 0.1 mag, in redshift z=0.1 (u-g) color. I evaluate the change in color and in the luminosity functions of the two sequences using some simplistic stellar population synthesis models. These models indicate that the luminous end of the red sequence fades less than passive evolution allows by about 0.2 mag. Due to a lack of luminous blue progenitors, ``dry'' mergers betweeen red galaxies then must create the luminous red population at z=0.1, if stellar population models are correct. The blue sequence colors and luminosity function are consistent with a reduction in the star-formation rate since redshift z=1 by a factor of about three, with no change in the number density to within 10%. These results restrict the number of blue galaxies that can fall onto the red sequence by any process, and in particular suggest that if mergers are catastrophic events they must be rare for blue galaxies.

Stellar Rotation: A Clue to the Origin of High-Mass Stars?

We present the results of a study aimed at assessing whether low and high mass stars form similarly. Our approach is (1) to examine the observed projected rotational velocities among a large sample of newly-formed stars spanning a range in mass between 0.2 and 50 M ; and (2) to search for evidence of a discontinuity in rotational properties that might indicate a difference in the stellar formation process at some characteristic mass. Our database includes both recently published values of v sin i for young intermediate- and low- mass stars in Orion, as well as new observations of O stars located in young clusters and OB associations. We find that the median of the quantity v_obs/v_c (observed rotational speed/equatorial breakup velocity) is typically about 0.15 and shows no evidence of a discontinuity over the full range of stellar masses, while the quantity Jsini/M (derived angular momentum per unit mass) exhibits a slow, monotonic rise with increasing mass with no evidence of a discontinuity. We suggest that these observations are most simply interpreted as indicative of a single stellar formation and angular momentum regulation mechanism: one that results in rotation rates well below breakup, and angular momenta per unit mass that differ systematically by no more than a factor of 3-4 over a mass range spanning a factor of 250.

Massive and Red Objects Predicted by a Semianalytical Model of Galaxy Formation

We study whether hierarchical galaxy formation in a concordance $\Lambda$CDM universe can produce enough massive and red galaxies compared to the observations. We implement a semi-analytical model in which the central black holes gain their mass during major mergers of galaxies and the energy feedback from active galaxy nuclei (AGN) suppresses the gas cooling in their host halos. The energy feedback from AGN acts effectively only in massive galaxies when supermassive black holes have been formed in the central bulges. Compared with previous models without black hole formation, our model predicts more massive and luminous galaxies at high redshift, agreeing with the observations of K20 up to $z\sim 3$. Also the predicted stellar mass density from massive galaxies agrees with the observations of GDDS. Because of the energy feedback from AGN, the formation of new stars is stopped in massive galaxies with the termination of gas cooling and these galaxies soon become red with color $R-K>$5 (Vega magnitude), comparable to the Extremely Red Objects (EROs) observed at redshift $z\sim$1-2. Still the predicted number density of very EROs is lower than observed at $z\sim 2$, and it may be related to inadequate descriptions of dust extinction, star formation history and AGN feedback in those luminous galaxies.

Multiresolution Radiative Transfer for Line Emission

Radiative transfer calculations are crucial for modeling interstellar clouds because they provide the link between physical conditions in a cloud and the radiation observed from it. Three-dimensional simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are used to study the structure and dynamics of interstellar clouds and even to follow the initial stages of core collapse leading to the formation of new stars. The wide range of size scales in such models poses a serious challenge to radiative transfer calculations. In this paper we describe a new computer code that solves the radiative transfer problem on multiresolution grids. If the cloud model is from an MHD simulation on a regular Cartesian grid, criteria based, for example, on local density or velocity gradients are used to refine the grid by dividing selected cells into subcells. Division can be repeated hierarchically. Alternatively, if the cloud model is from MHD simulations with adaptive mesh refinement, the same multiresolution grid used for the MHD simulation is adopted in the radiative transfer calculations. High discretization is often needed only in a small fraction of the total volume. This makes it possible to simulate spectral line maps with good accuracy, also minimizing the total number of cells and the computational cost (time and memory). Multiresolution models are compared with models on regular grids. In the case of moderate optical depths (e.g., τ ~ few) an accuracy of 10% can be reached with multiresolution models where only 10% of the cells of the full grid are used. For optically thick species (τ ~ 100), the same accuracy is achieved using 15% of the cells. The relation between accuracy and number of cells is not found to be significantly different in the two MHD models we have studied. The new code is used to study differences between LTE and non-LTE spectra and between isothermal and nonisothermal cloud models. We find significant differences in line ratios and individual spectral line profiles of the isothermal and LTE models relative to the more realistic nonisothermal case. The slope of the power spectrum of integrated intensity is instead very similar in all models.

On the formation of massive stellar clusters

Here we model a star forming factory in which the continuous creation of stars results in a highly concentrated, massive (globular cluster-like) stellar system. We show that under very general conditions a large-scale gravitational instability in the ISM, which triggers the collapse of a massive cloud, leads with the aid of a spontaneous first generation of massive stars, to a standing, small-radius, cold and dense shell. Eventually, as more of the collapsing matter is processed and incorporated, the shell becomes gravitationally unstable and begins to fragment, allowing the formation of new stars, while keeping its location. This is due to a detailed balance established between the ram pressure from the collapsing cloud which, together with the gravitational force exerted on the shell by the forming cluster, acts against the mechanical energy deposited by the collection of new stars. We present a full analysis of feedback and show how the standing shell copes with the increasing mechanical energy generated by an increasing star-formation rate. The latter also leads to a rapidly growing number of ionizing photons, and we show that these manage to ionize only the inner skin of the standing star-forming shell. We analyze the mass spectrum of fragments that result from the continuous fragmentation of the standing shell and show that its shape is well approximated at the high mass end by a power law with slope -2.25, very close to the value that fits the universal IMF. Furthermore, it presents a maximum near to one solar mass and a rapid change towards a much flatter slope for smaller fragments. The self-contamination resultant from the continuous generation of stars is shown to lead to a large metal spread in massive (~10) clusters, while clusters with a mass similar to 10 or smaller, simply reflect the initial metalicity of the collapsing cloud. This is in good agreement with the data available for globular clusters in the Galaxy. Other observables such as the expected IR luminosity and the Hα equivalent width caused by the forming clusters are also calculated.

Stellar populations in local star-forming galaxies -- II. Recent star formation properties and stellar masses

We present the integrated properties of the stellar populations in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid Survey galaxies. Applying the techniques described in the first paper of this series, we derive ages, burst masses and metallicities of the newly-formed stars in our sample galaxies. The population of young stars is responsible for the Halpha emission used to detect the objects in the UCM Survey. We also infer total stellar masses and star formation rates in a consistent way taking into account the evolutionary history of each galaxy. We find that an average UCM galaxy has a total stellar mass of ~1E10 Msun, of which about 5% has been formed in an instantaneous burst occurred about 5 Myr ago, and sub-solar metallicity. Less than 10% of the sample shows massive starbursts involving more than half of the total mass of the galaxy. Several correlations are found among the derived properties. The burst strength is correlated with the extinction and with the integrated optical colours for galaxies with low obscuration. The current star formation rate is correlated with the gas content. A stellar mass-metallicity relation is also found. Our analysis indicates that the UCM Survey galaxies span a broad range in properties between those of galaxies completely dominated by current/recent star formation and those of normal quiescent spirals. We also find evidence indicating that star-formation in the local universe is dominated by galaxies considerably less massive than L*.

From Massive Protostars to a Giant HiiRegion: Submillimeter Imaging of the Galactic Ministarburst W43

We have carried out a submillimeter continuum and spectroscopic study of the W43 main complex, a massive star-forming region, which harbors a giant HII region. The maps reveal a filamentary structure containing ~50 fragments with masses of 40-4000 Msun and typical diameters of 0.25 pc. Their large sizes, large non-thermal velocities (Dv ~ 5 km/s), and high densities (n_H2 ~ 10^6 cm^-3) suggest that they are protoclusters and excellent sites to form massive stars. Follow-up observations are necessary, but we have already identified three protoclusters to be very good candidates for containing very young massive protostars. The starburst cluster, that excites the giant HII region has a large impact on the molecular complex. However, it remains unclear if this first episode of star formation is triggering the formation of new massive stars, through ionization shocks crossing the closeby molecular clouds. W43 is thus an ideal laboratory to investigate massive star formation from the protostellar phase to that of giant HII regions. Moreover, the very active star-forming complex W43 may be considered a Galactic mini-starburst region that could be used as a miniature model of starburst galaxies.

The truncation of stellar discs: The magnetic hypothesis

We propose a hypothesis of the truncation of stellar discs based on the magnetic model of the rotation curve of spiral galaxies. Once the disc had formed and acquired its present structure, approximately, three balanced forces were acting on the initial gas: gravity and magnetic forces, inwards, and centrifugal force. When stars are formed from this gas, the magnetic force is suddenly suppressed. Gravitation alone cannot retain the newly-formed stars and at birth places beyond a certain galactocentric radius they escape to intergalactic space. This radius is the so-called ``truncation radius'', which is predicted to be at about 4-5 disc radial scale lengths, in promising agreement with observations.

Rapid Formation of Molecular Clouds and Stars in the Solar Neighborhood

Observations of both star-forming regions and young, gas-free stellar associations indicate that most nearby molecular clouds form stars only over a short time span before dispersal; large-scale flows in the diffuse interstellar medium have the potential for forming clouds sufficiently rapidly, and for producing stellar populations with ages much less than the lateral crossing times of their host molecular clouds. We identify four important factors for understanding rapid star formation and short cloud lifetimes. First, much of the accumulation and dispersal of clouds near the solar circle might occur in the atomic phase; only the high-density portion of a cloud's lifecycle is spent in the molecular phase, thus helping to limit molecular cloud ``lifetimes''. Second, once a cloud achieves a high enough column density to form $\h2$ and CO, gravitational forces become larger than typical interstellar pressure forces; thus star formation can follow rapidly upon molecular gas formation and turbulent dissipation in limited areas of each cloud complex. Third, typical magnetic fields are not strong enough to prevent rapid cloud formation and gravitational collapse. Fourth, rapid dispersal of gas by newly-formed stars, and reduction of shielding by a small expansion of the cloud after the first events of star formation, might limit the length of the star formation epoch and the lifetime of a cloud in its molecular state. This picture emphasizes the importance of large-scale boundary conditions for understanding molecular cloud formation, and implies that star formation is a highly dynamic, rather than quasi-static, process.

Star formation onset in baryonic disks: The role of a triaxial halo

We investigate the eects of the onset of star formation on the growth of bar instability using a smooth particle hydrodynamics code implemented to account for chemo-photometric evolution from UV to near{ IR wavelengths. We analyze the role of a non axisymmetric dark matter halo on the bar triggering and the feedback due to the ongoing star formation rate in the disk. We nd that the dark matter halo plays a very important role in the evolution of the luminous matter. The star formation rate (SFR) depends indeed both on its mass, which leads the total gravitational eld, and on its dynamical state. Stronger initial bursts of star formation are triggered in the more massive unrelaxed haloes than in the relaxed ones, which are also the more concentrated at the beginning. We point out further that the dark matter concentration is dierent in haloes with a dierent initial triaxiality ratio, suggesting a dependence of the SFR also on the halo geometry. By mapping the predicted B surface brightness of the new stars formed, we nd that a luminous bar along the whole disk develops only in the rst stages of such an instability, then later, new stars are born in the inner regions and the bar is reduced to the central 3{4 kpc. After 1.7 Gyr the young stellar component shows stronger bars in the presence of the relaxed haloes with a lower initial triaxiality ratio; strong bars still appear in the old star isodensity contours of the same systems, at variance with our results when star formation is switched o. The formation of new stars causes indeed a lower dynamical coupling between dark matter and baryonic particles, which lengthens the life{time of the bar. Colours and metallicity gradients of new stars allow us to understand deeply the observational consequences of initial geometry and dynamical state of the halo on the star formation process.

The stellar epoch in the evolution of the Galaxy

We consider the astrophysical evolution of the Galaxy over large time scales, from early stages (an age of ∼108 yrs) to the end of traditional stellar evolution (∼1011 yrs). Despite the fact that the basic parameters of our stellar system (such as its size, mass, and general structure) have varied little over this time, variations in the characteristics of stars (their total luminosity, color, mass function, and chemical composition) are rather substantial. The interaction of the Galaxy with other stellar systems becomes an important factor in its evolution 100–1000 Gyr after its origin; however, we take the Galaxy to be isolated. In the model considered, the basic stages of Galactic evolution are as follows. The Galaxy forms as the result of the contraction (collapse) of a protogalactic cloud. The beginning of the Milky Way’s life—the relaxation period, which lasts about 1–2 Gyr—is characterized by active star formation and final structurization. The luminosity and colors of the Galaxy are correlated to the star formation rate (SFR). The young Galaxy intensely radiates high-energy photons, which are mostly absorbed by dust and re-emitted at IR wavelengths. In the subsequent period of steady-state evolution, the gas content in the Galactic disk gradually decreases; accordingly, the SFR decreases, reaching 3–5M ⊙/yr at the present epoch and decreasing to 0.03M ⊙/yr by an age of 100 Gyr. Essentially all other basic parameters of the Galaxy vary little. Later, the decrease in the SFR accelerates, since the evolution of stars with masses exceeding 0.4M ⊙ (i.e., those able to lose matter and renew the supply of interstellar gas) comes to an end. The Galaxy enters a period of “dying”, and becomes fainter and redder. The variation of its chemical composition is manifested most appreciably in a dramatic enrichment of the interstellar gas in iron. The final “stellar epoch” in the life of the Galaxy is completed ∼1013 yrs after its formation, when the evolution of the least massive stars comes to an end. By this time, the supplies of interstellar and intergalactic gas are exhausted, the remaining stars become dark, compact remnants, there is no further formation of new stars, and the Galactic disk no longer radiates. Eventually, infrequent outbursts originating from collisions of stellar remnants in the densest central regions of the Galaxy will remain the only source of emission.

Chemical Evolution of the Galactic Halo through Supernova-induced Star Formation and Its Implication for Population III Stars

A model for Galactic chemical evolution, driven by supernova-induced star formation, is formulated and used to examine the nature of the Galactic halo at early epochs. In this model, new stars are formed following each supernova event, thus their abundance pattern is determined by the combination of heavy elements ejected from the supernova itself and those elements which are already present in the interstellar gas swept up by the supernova remnant. The end result is a prediction of large scatter in the abundance ratios among low-metallicity stars, reflecting a different nucleosynthesis yield for each Type II supernova with a different progenitor mass. Formation of new stars is terminated when supernova remnants sweep up too little gas to form shells. We show from calculations based on the above scenario that (i) the observed [Fe/H] distribution for the Galactic halo field stars can be reproduced without effectively decreasing the heavy-element yields from Type II supernovae by some manipulation required by previous models (e.g., via mass loss from the early Galaxy, or later mixing with ``pristine'' hydrogen clouds), (ii) the large observed scatter in the abundance ratio [Eu/Fe] for the most metal-poor stars can also be reproduced, and (iii) the frequency distribution of stars in the [Eu/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane can be predicted. Our model suggests that the probability of identifying essentially metal-free stars (Population III) in the local halo is around one in 10^{3-4}, provided that star formation in the halo is confined to individual gas clouds with mass of 10^{6-7} Msun and that the initial mass function of metal-free stars is not significantly different from the Salpeter mass function.

Scientific Background to the UKST Hα Survey

AbstractThe dominant process in the evolution of spiral galaxies like our own is clearly the formation of new stars, and the leading optical indicator of this is Hα emission. Considering the tremendous importance of star formation and its variation within and between galaxies, it is surprising just how little survey work has been carried out at Hα. After the successful development of Tech Pan films for deep photographic imaging with the UKST, and given the particular sensitivity of Tech Pan at wavelengths near Hα, it was natural to consider the possibilities for a narrowband Hα imaging survey of large angular extent. This idea quickly developed into a full-blown survey of the whole of the Southern Milky Way, of the Magellanic Clouds, and of selected extragalactic regions of interest such as that around the Virgo Cluster. This special issue is devoted to the discussion of the details of making and using this survey.

Gas Clouds May Be Relics of Creation

TORONTO —Astronomers had thought that the high-speed clouds of hydrogen atoms that roam through space are accelerated by supernova explosions within our galaxy. But a new proposal argues that they may be something much grander: huge, distant remnants of the galaxy's formation that extend well beyond the Milky Way and could fuel the formation of new stars for billions of years into the future.

Binary Star Formation in Disc-Disc Encounters

AbstractWe present results of 3-D self-gravitating hydrodynamical calculations of the encounter between two protostellar discs. We find that the interaction leads to fragmentation of the discs and the formation of new stars and multiple systems.

Star formation in differentially rotating galactic discs: the physics of self-propagation

Large-scale propagating star formation in galaxies is studied as a self-regulatin process. The model connects the energy injection by star formation with the resulting interstellar structures in a differentially rotating disc. The star formation cycl includes the formation of new stars in groups, multisupernova remnants agglomerafin the gas into supershells, formation of clouds and repeated birth of stars. We investigat the evolution of a galaxy dominated by this cycle and conclude that the predicted radial distributions of H I and H2, the numbers of multisupernova remnants and massive cloud complexes, the surface filling factors of shells, the star formation rate (SFR), and the location of the molecular rings are in agreement with the properties of the observed galaxies.

Models of hot galactic coronae around early-type galaxies

We have computed simple non-steady state models of X-ray-emitting, hot galactic coronae which are observed around early-type galaxies. Our models, appropriate for elliptical galaxies, include the effect of the formation of new stars which occurs as the gas radiatively cools and the effect of supernova explosions which serve to heat the cooling gas component from which the stars are forming. We develop scaling relations for the galaxy parameters including the optical galaxy as well as a dark matter halo which we use to generate galaxy models spanning a range of absolute magnitudes from -19.5 to -22.5. We compare our models to a sample of approximately 150 galaxies with measured X-ray luminosities. We show that our simple model does exhibit the observed correlation between X-ray and optical luminosity. However, the model cannot explain the broad range in X-ray luminosity at a given optical luminosity.

Sub-arcsecond 10 micron imaging of newly-formed stars

We describe initial results of a program to image massive newly-formed stars with sub-arc second spatial resolution. We discuss high-precision diffraction-limited size measurements at λ = 10 µm made using the 3 m Lick telescope. The point-spread function has FWHM ~ 0.7″; deconvolution yields a spatial resolution of ~ 0.35″. We find that the core component of one such object, LkHα 101, is unresolved at these scales, and we are able to set a 95%-confidence upper limit of 270 AU for the diameter of the circumstellar dust shell. This places the dust at the same radial scale as a strong ionized stellar wind region seen at radio wavelengths. Our observations, when combined with published spectral observations, rule out an optically thick circumstellar disk but allow a radially thin, anisotropic distribution of dust, or alternatively an isotropic distribution of dust with a narrow range of large grain sizes.