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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

High-mass star-formation rates in M33

The H I, CO, and H-alpha data for M33 are analyzed to obtain high-mass star formation rates and efficiencies and to look for variations in these quantities within the inner disk of M33. Star formation rates and efficiencies are calculated using calibrated H-alpha data. The H-alpha emission in this region of the galaxy corresponds to high-mass and total star-formation rates of 0.007 and 0.04 solar mass/yr, respectively. These results agree reasonably well with the rates calculated from the 60 and 100-micron IRAS emission. The star formation rates obtained form FIR and H-alpha luminosities are compared with those obtained from optical photometry.

Wilson, Christine D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Binary stars - Formation by fragmentation

Theories of binary star formation by capture, separate nuclei, fission and fragmentation are compared, assessing the success of theoretical attempts to explain the observed properties of main-sequence binary stars. The theory of formation by fragmentation is examined, discussing the prospects for checking the theory against observations of binary premain-sequence stars. It is concluded that formation by fragmentation is successful at explaining many of the key properties of main-sequence binary stars.

Boss, Alan P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Enhanced star formation and infrared emission in the centers of galaxies

The IR properties of galaxies with star-formation-dominated central IR luminosity are discussed, summarizing the results of recent observational investigations. Consideration is given to the constituents of star-forming galaxies (dust in emission, photoionized gas, and shock-heated gas), the IR morphology (IR luminosity and young stars and NIR mapping to see beyond dust), the relationship between IR and radio emission, M82 as a typical object, and the implications of the observations for theoretical models of star formation. It is concluded that star formation in these galaxies will exhaust the available gas supply in much less than a Hubble time. Diagrams, graphs, sample images, and tables of numerical data are provided.

Telesco, Charles M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Star formation rates and the far-infrared luminosity of Galactic molecular clouds

The CO luminosity, far-IR luminosity, and virial mass of 55 molecular clouds are determined and related to star formation rates (SFRs) in the clouds. The SFR of OB stars per unit of available molecular mass is found to be independent of cloud mass and varies widely over a range of about 100 for clouds of mass between 30,000 and five million solar masses. The far-IR luminosity is proportional to the first power of the CO luminosity for clouds undergoing high-mass star formation. There are massive clouds without any current high-mass star formation. The average gas depletion time is about 2.5 billion yr. The far-IR luminosity-to-mass ratio for isolated or weakly interacting spiral galaxies observed by IRAS is twice that for the average Galactic molecular cloud. The star formation mechanism operating in strongly interacting galaxies is five times more efficient than that of the most active Galactic cloud and 30 times that of the average Galactic cloud.

Mooney, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Star formation in molecular clouds

A general overview is presented of the findings of molecular line and infrared astronomy regarding star formation. Beginning with the statement that stars, and therefore, planets, form from molecular clouds, it is argued that the growing body of data on conditions in molecular clouds should serve as input parameters for theoretical calculations of star and planet formation. The fact that the gravitational potential energy of molecular clouds far exceeds their thermal energy implies that the required rate of star formation is easily explained. Indeed the most important problem in this field is that the rate of star formation predicted from molecular cloud studies is too high. Until this problem is understood, additional modes of inducing star formation, while they may be occurring, only add to the existing difficulties.

Evans, N. J., II↗
NASA NTRS1987

Infrared emission and star formation in early-type galaxies

Infrared emission from elliptical and S0 galaxies was studied to determine the extent of low-mass star formation in such early-type galaxies. It is found that the infrared colors of about one-third of the sample are consistent with ongoing star formation, although a contribution to the emission from an 'active' nucleus might play an important role in some objects. Apparently star formation has not ceased in some elliptical and S0 galaxies and may be fueled by mass loss from evolved stars or out of the rubble of galaxian mergers. Of four plausible candidate star-forming ellipticals, three show evidence for accretion and/or merger. It is also concluded that IRAS two-color diagrams are often ambiguous in determining whether or not emission arising from star formation dominates far-infrared luminosity.

Thronson, Harley A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Radial Distribution of Star Formation in Galaxies at Z approximately 1 from the 3D-HST Survey

The assembly of galaxies can be described by the distribution of their star formation as a function of cosmic time. Thanks to the WFC3 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) it is now possible to measure this beyond the local Universe. Here we present the spatial distribution of H emission for a sample of 54 strongly star-forming galaxies at z 1 in the 3D-HST Treasury survey. By stacking the H emission, we find that star formation occurred in approximately exponential distributions at z approximately 1, with a median Sersic index of n = 1.0 +/- 0.2. The stacks are elongated with median axis ratios of b/a = 0.58 +/- 0.09 in H consistent with (possibly thick) disks at random orientation angles. Keck spectra obtained for a subset of eight of the galaxies show clear evidence for rotation, with inclination corrected velocities of 90.330 km s(exp 1-). The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that star formation in strongly star-forming galaxies at z approximately 1 generally occurred in disks. The disks appear to be scaled-up versions of nearby spiral galaxies: they have EW(H alpha) at approximately 100 A out to the solar orbit and they have star formation surface densities above the threshold for driving galactic scale winds.

Nelson, Erica June↗
NASA NTRS1987

Star formation in X-ray cluster cooling flows

The basic equations for X-ray cluster cooling flows, including the effects of star formation, are derived. It is confirmed that cooling flows are thermally unstable, and it is found that the fastest-growing linear perturbations in the flow are radial, comoving, and isobaric. A local approximation for the star formation rate is developed which allows analytic solutions to be found for both isobaric and gravity-dominated cooling flows. These solutions are used to show how star formation reduces the gas density, thereby lowering the cooling rate, which raises the gas temperature relative to the non-star-forming case. The analytic solutions are also used to estimate the spatial distribution of newly formed stars. It is found that star formation must proceed at a nearly maximal rate if isothermal mass profiles are to result.

White, Raymond E., III↗
DOE OSTI2022

Star formation and AGN feedback in the local Universe: Combining LOFAR and MaNGA

The effect of active galactic nuclei (AGN) on their host galaxies – in particular their levels of star formation – remains one of the key outstanding questions of galaxy evolution. Successful cosmological models of galaxy evolution require a fraction of energy released by an AGN to be redistributed into the interstellar medium to reproduce the observed stellar mass and luminosity function and to prevent the formation of over-massive galaxies. Observations have confirmed that the radio-AGN population is energetically capable of heating and redistributing gas at all phases, however, direct evidence of AGN enhancing or quenching star formation remains rare. With modern, deep radio surveys and large integral field spectroscopy (IFS) surveys, we can detect fainter synchrotron emission from AGN jets and accurately probe the star-forming properties of galaxies, respectively. Here, in this paper, we combine data from the LOw Frequency ARray Two-meter Sky Survey (LoTSS) with data from one of the largest optical IFS surveys, Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), to probe the star-forming properties of 307 local (z < 0.15) galaxies that host radio-detected AGN (RDAGN). We compare our results to a robust control sample of non-active galaxies that each match the stellar mass, redshift, visual morphology, and inclination of a RDAGN host. We find that RDAGN and control galaxies have broad star-formation rate (SFR) distributions, typically lie below the SFMS, and have negative stellar light-weighted age gradients. These results indicate that AGN selected based on their current activity are not responsible for suppressing their host galaxies’ star formation. Rather, our results support the maintenance mode role that radio AGN are expected to have in the local Universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

High-mass star formation due to cloud-cloud collisions

Observational evidence is presented for the compression of molecular gas in the interface between colliding GMCs, and it is proposed that this is the dominant mode for high-mass star formation in the Galaxy. For a sample of 94 GMCs associated with high-luminosity radio H II regions, the efficiency of OB star formation decreases significantly with increasing cloud mass over the observed mass range. It is concluded that star formation is generally not stimulated by an internal mechanism. The formation of OB stars by cloud-cloud collisions is suggested by the observed quadratic dependence of the Galactic H II region distribution on the local density of H2. The preference for OB star formation in spiral arms is then naturally accounted for by orbit crowding and the increased collision frequency of clouds in the spiral arms.

Scoville, N. Z.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Star formation in outer rings of S0 galaxies: IV. NGC 254: A double-ringed S0 with gas counter-rotation

Although S0 galaxies are usually considered “red and dead”, they often demonstrate star formation organized into ring structures. We aim to clarify the nature of this phenomenon and how it differs from star formation in spiral galaxies. We investigated the nearby, moderate-luminosity S0 galaxy NGC 254 using long-slit spectroscopy taken with the South African Large Telescope and publicly available imaging data. Applying a full spectral fitting, we analyzed gaseous and stellar kinematics as well as ionized gas excitation and metallicity and stellar population properties resolved by radius. An advanced approach of simultaneously fitting spectra and photometric data allowed us to quantify the fraction of hidden counter-rotating stars in this galaxy. We find that the ionized gas is counter-rotating with respect to the stars throughout NGC 254 disk, indicating an external origin of the gas. We argue the gas-rich galaxy merger from retrograde orbit as a main source of counter-rotating material. The star formation fed by this counter-rotating gas occurs within two rings: an outer ring at R = 55' - 70" and an inner ring at R = 18". The star formation rate is weak, 0.02 solar mass per year in total, and the gas metallicity is slightly subsolar. We estimated that the accretion of the gas occurred about 1 Gyr ago, and about 1% of all stars have formed in situ from counter-rotating gas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Investigating the Effects of Bars on Star Formation and Nuclear Activity of Galaxies Using DESI Survey Data

We present a statistical analysis of the connections between galactic bars, star formation, and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity using 33,201 disk galaxies (0.01 < z < 0.05) from Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1 (DESI DR1) cross-matched with Galaxy Zoo DESI. Based on morphological classifications, we identify 3508 strongly barred and 8335 weakly barred systems. We find that barred galaxies exhibit a clear bimodal distribution in color–mass space: weak bars are preferentially found in bluer, lower-mass disks, whereas strong bars are more common in massive, redder systems. Strongly barred galaxies are on average more massive and metal rich than unbarred systems. In addition, strong bars enhance central star formation rates (SFRs) in low-mass galaxies but reduce specific SFRs in massive systems, reflecting a dual role where bars initially trigger central star formation but eventually promote quenching by accelerating gas consumption. In terms of nuclear activity, barred galaxies display a higher incidence of AGN activity. The presence of a bar is also associated with an increased fraction of powerful AGN, with the highest proportions found in strongly barred systems. However, the correlations between AGN activity and detailed bar structural parameters are weak, suggesting that the link between bars and nuclear activity is indirect and regulated by multiple factors. Overall, our results support a scenario in which bars facilitate angular momentum transport and gas inflow, thereby driving central star formation and fueling supermassive black hole accretion while operating alongside other processes that shape galaxy evolution.

Liu, Jianfei [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), B↗
DOE OSTI2020

Star Formation in Splash Bridges

Splash bridges are created from the direct collision of two gas-rich disk galaxies. These direct collisions can eject gas masses on the order of 10 10 M ⊙ stripped from the stellar disks of each galaxy. The Taffy Galaxy system (UGC 1294/5) is a prototypical example of a splash bridge system. CO observations of the Taffy revealed that its splash bridge contains a mass of H 2 equal to the Milky Way's H 2 mass. However, the little visible star formation occurring within the bridge highlights the need for models of direct gas-rich disk collisions. The Arp 194 system displays what may be another splash bridge resulting from the collision between two disk galaxies. The region between the two stellar disks contains bright clumps of active star formation. We aim to better understand the conditions for star formation in splash bridges by employing a Jeans criterion to determine where gravitational instabilities occur in the shocked and cooling gas of gas-rich disk collisions. The splash bridge results are obtained from our previous work using a sticky particle code and post-processed. We find that the inclination between the gas disks and the collision velocity with which the gas collides strongly affects the fraction of gas that will become gravitationally unstable. Low inclinations between gas disks produce starbursts whereas high inclinations result in steady-rate star formation. The offset of the gas disks at impact will determine how many gas elements directly collide but does not strongly affect the resulting star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Connecting Galactic Outflows and Star Formation: Inferences from Hα Maps and Absorption-line Spectroscopy at 1 ≲ z ≲ 1.5

We investigate the connection between galactic outflows and star formation using two independent data sets covering a sample of 22 galaxies between 1 ≲ z ≲ 1.5. The Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/G141 grism provides low spectral resolution, high spatial resolution spectroscopy yielding Hα emission-line maps from which we measure the spatial extent and strength of star formation. In the rest-frame near-UV, Keck/DEIMOS observes Fe ii and Mg ii interstellar absorption lines, which provide constraints on the intensity and velocity of the outflows. We compare outflow properties from individual and composite spectra with the star formation rate (SFR) and SFR surface density (Σ{sub SFR}), as well as the stellar mass and specific SFR (sSFR). The Fe ii and Mg ii equivalent widths (EWs) increase with both SFR and Σ{sub SFR} at ≳3σ significance, while the composite spectra show larger Fe ii EWs and outflow velocities in galaxies with higher SFR, Σ{sub SFR}, and sSFR. Absorption-line profiles of the composite spectra further indicate that the differences between subsamples are driven by outflows rather than the interstellar medium. While these results are consistent with those of previous studies, the use of Hα images makes them the most direct test of the relationship between star formation and outflows at z > 1 to date. Future facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes will extend these direct, Hα-based studies to lower masses and SFRs, probing galactic feedback across orders of magnitude in galaxy properties and augmenting the correlations we find here.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1987

Star Formation in Galaxies

Topics addressed include: star formation; galactic infrared emission; molecular clouds; OB star luminosity; dust grains; IRAS observations; galactic disks; stellar formation in Magellanic clouds; irregular galaxies; spiral galaxies; starbursts; morphology of galactic centers; and far-infrared observations.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2020

Induced Metal-free Star Formation around a Massive Black Hole Seed

The direct formation of a massive black hole is a potential seeding mechanism of the earliest observed supermassive black holes. We investigate how the existence of a massive black hole seed impacts the ionization and thermal state of its pre-galactic host halo and subsequent star formation. We show that its X-ray radiation ionizes and heats the medium, enhancing H 2 formation in shielded regions, within the nuclear region in the span of a million years. The enhanced molecular cooling triggers the formation of a ~10 4 M⊙ metal-free stellar cluster at a star formation efficiency of ~0.1% in a single event. Star formation occurs near the edges of the H ii region that is partially ionized by X-rays; thus, the initial size depends on the black hole properties and surrounding environment. Furthermore, the simulated metal-free galaxy has an initial half-light radius of ~10 pc but expands to ~50 pc after 10 million years because of the outward velocities of their birth clouds. Supernova feedback then quenches any further star formation for tens of millions of years, allowing the massive black hole to dominate the spectrum once the massive metal-free stars die.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1980

A continuum and recombination line study of the Cep IV star formation region

The Cep IV star formation region consists of the Cep IV OB association, the H II regions W 1 and NGC 7822, and an extensive fragmented dust cloud complex. Six- and nine-cm radio continuum observations and 6-cm hydrogen recombination line observations show that all of the emission nebulosity in this region, which includes a large loop-type structure suggested by Herbst and Assousa (1977) to be a supernova remnant, has a thermal spectrum. The two components of W 1 have been detected at H 110 alpha and are found to be kinematically distinct.

Rosano, G. S.↗