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Galactic star formation in parsec-scale resolution simulations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2011

Leila C. Powell
Affiliation:
SAp, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France email: [email protected]
Frederic Bournaud
Affiliation:
SAp, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France email: [email protected]
Damien Chapon
Affiliation:
SAp, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France email: [email protected]
Julien Devriendt
Affiliation:
Oxford Astrophysics, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
Adrianne Slyz
Affiliation:
Oxford Astrophysics, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
Romain Teyssier
Affiliation:
SAp, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France email: [email protected] Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Zurich Winterhurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract

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The interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies is multiphase and cloudy, with stars forming in the very dense, cold gas found in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs). Simulating the evolution of an entire galaxy, however, is a computational problem which covers many orders of magnitude, so many simulations cannot reach densities high enough or temperatures low enough to resolve this multiphase nature. Therefore, the formation of GMCs is not captured and the resulting gas distribution is smooth, contrary to observations. We investigate how star formation (SF) proceeds in simulated galaxies when we obtain parsec-scale resolution and more successfully capture the multiphase ISM. Both major mergers and the accretion of cold gas via filaments are dominant contributors to a galaxy's total stellar budget and we examine SF at high resolution in both of these contexts.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

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