The ATLAS3D Project – XXVIII. Dynamically driven star formation suppression in early-type galaxies
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: We present measurements of the star formation rate (SFR) in the early-type galaxies (ETGs) of the ATLAS3D sample, based on Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) 22um and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) far-ultraviolet emission. We combine these with gas masses estimated from 12CO and HI data in order to investigate the star formation efficiency (SFE) in a larger sample of ETGs than previously available. We first recalibrate (based on WISE data) the relation between old stellar populations (traced at Ks-band) and 22um luminosity, allowing us to remove the contribution of 22um emission from circumstellar dust. We then go on to investigate the position of ETGs on the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation. Molecular gas-rich ETGs have comparable star formation surface densities to normal spiral galaxy centres, but they lie systematically offset from the KS relation, having lower star formation efficiencies by a factor of ~2.5 (in agreement with other authors). This effect is driven by galaxies where a substantial fraction of the molecular material is in the rising part of the rotation curve, and shear is high. We show here for the first time that although the number of stars formed per unit gas mass per unit time is lower in ETGs, it seems that the amount of stars formed per free-fall time is approximately constant. The scatter around this dynamical relation still correlates with galaxy properties such as the shape of the potential in the inner regions. This leads us to suggest that dynamical properties (such as shear or the global stability of the gas) may be important second parameters that regulate star formation and cause much of the scatter around star-formation relations.
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stu570
Authors: Timothy A. Davis, Lisa M. Young, Alison F. Crocker, Martin Bureau, Leo Blitz, Katherine Alatalo, Eric Emsellem, Thorsten Naab, Estelle Bayet, Maxime Bois, Frédéric Bournaud, Michele Cappellari, Roger L. Davies, P. T. de Zeeuw, Pierre-Alain Duc, Sadegh Khochfar, Davor Krajnović, Harald Kuntschner, Richard M. McDermid, Raffaella Morganti, Tom Oosterloo, Marc Sarzi, Nicholas Scott, Paolo Serra, Anne-Marie Weijmans
Institutions: European Southern Observatory, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, University of Toledo, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Lyon 1 Université, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Observatoire de Lyon, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Observatoire de Paris, Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEA Paris-Saclay - Etablissement de Saclay, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation, Leiden University, Leiden Observatory, Royal Observatory, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility, Australian Astronomical Observatory, University of Groningen, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, University of Hertfordshire, The University of Sydney, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, University of St Andrews
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, James S. McDonnell Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Australian Astronomical Optics-Macquarie, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council
Awards: G4108277690, G4305749261, G520157849, Cold Gas in Hot Galaxies, Astrophysics at Oxford: 2010-2015, G6078595445, G6120727724, G7210229524, Astrophysics at Oxford, Short-term Visitors to Oxford Astrophysics - bridging support, Angular momentum transfer in galaxy formation and evolution, Supermassive black holes and nuclear stellar disks, nuclear keys to galaxy formation and evolution, G7873814991, G8085321155, G825502566, Short-term Visitors to Oxford Astrophysics
OpenAlex ID: W2140807130