Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: Self-regulation of star formation in disks is controlled by two dimensionless parameters: the Toomre parameter for gravitational instability and the porosity of the interstellar medium to supernova remnant-heated gas. An interplay between these leads to expressions for the gas velocity dispersion, gas fraction, star formation rate and star formation efficiency in disks and to a possible explanation of the Tully-Fisher relation. I further develop feedback arguments that arise from the impact of massive star formation and death on protogalaxies in order to account for the characteristic luminosity of a galaxy and for early winds from forming spheroids.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/304073
Author: Joseph Silk
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2047425557