Emergence of the Kennicutt-Schmidt Relation from the Small-Scale SFR-Density Relation

Abstract

We use simulations of isolated galaxies with a few parsec resolution to explore the connection between the small-scale star formation rate - gas density relation and the induced large-scale correlation between the star formation rate surface density and the surface density of the molecular gas (the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation). We find that, in the simulations, a power-law small-scale "star formation law" directly translates into an identical power-law Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. If this conclusion holds in the reality as well, it implies that the observed approximately linear Kennicutt-Schmidt relation must reflect the approximately linear small-scale "star formation law".

Replaced with the accepted version

References in corpus (6)

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Star formation sustained by gas accretion
• On the interplay between star formation and feedback in galaxy formation simulations
• What FIREs Up Star Formation: the Emergence of the Kennicutt-Schmidt Law from Feedback
• The physical origin of long gas depletion times in galaxies
• A Model for the Onset of Self-gravitation and Star Formation in Molecular Gas Governed by Galactic Forces: I. Cloud-scale Gas Motions
• How galaxies form stars: the connection between local and global star formation in galaxy simulations
• On the Star Formation Law for Spiral and Irregular Galaxies
• Young and turbulent: the early life of massive galaxy progenitors
• What Sets the Slope of the Molecular Kennicutt-Schmidt Relation?
• Gas Accretion and Star Formation Rates