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Star formation in NGC 5194 (M51a). II. The spatially resolved star formation law

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dc.contributor.authorKennicutt, RC
dc.contributor.authorCalzetti, D
dc.contributor.authorWalter, F
dc.contributor.authorHelou, G
dc.contributor.authorHollenbach, DJ
dc.contributor.authorArmus, L
dc.contributor.authorBendo, G
dc.contributor.authorDale, DA
dc.contributor.authorDraine, BT
dc.contributor.authorEngelbracht, CW
dc.contributor.authorGordon, KD
dc.contributor.authorPrescott, MKM
dc.contributor.authorRegan, MW
dc.contributor.authorThornley, MD
dc.contributor.authorBot, C
dc.contributor.authorBrinks, E
dc.contributor.authorDe Blok, E
dc.contributor.authorDe Mello, D
dc.contributor.authorMeyer, M
dc.contributor.authorMoustakas, J
dc.contributor.authorMurphy, EJ
dc.contributor.authorSheth, K
dc.contributor.authorSmith, JDT
dc.date2023-09-22T23:41:10.000
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T08:26:48Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T08:26:48Z
dc.date.issued2007-01-01
dc.descriptionThis is the pre-published version harvested from ArXiv. The published version is located at http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/671/1/333/
dc.description.abstractWe have studied the relationship between the star formation rate (SFR), surface density, and gas surface density in the spiral galaxy M51a (NGC 5194), using multiwavelength data obtained as part of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS). We introduce a new SFR index based on a linear combination of Hα emission-line and 24 μm continuum luminosities, which provides reliable extinction-corrected ionizing fluxes and SFR densities over a wide range of dust attenuations. The combination of these extinction-corrected SFR densities with aperture synthesis H I and CO maps has allowed us to probe the form of the spatially resolved star formation law on scales of 0.5-2 kpc. We find that the resolved SFR versus gas surface density relation is well represented by a Schmidt power law, which is similar in form and dispersion to the disk-averaged Schmidt law. We observe a comparably strong correlation of the SFR surface density with the molecular gas surface density, but no significant correlation with the surface density of atomic gas. The best-fitting slope of the Schmidt law varies from N = 1.37 to 1.56, with zero point and slope that change systematically with the spatial sampling scale. We tentatively attribute these variations to the effects of areal sampling and averaging of a nonlinear intrinsic star formation law. Our data can also be fitted by an alternative parameterization of the SFR surface density in terms of the ratio of gas surface density to local dynamical time, but with a considerable dispersion.
dc.description.pages333-348
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1086/522300
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/2844
dc.relation.ispartofASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
dc.relation.urlhttps://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1145&context=astro_faculty_pubs&unstamped=1
dc.source.issue1
dc.source.issue671
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subjectgalaxies : evolution
dc.subjectgalaxies : individual (M51a
dc.subjectNGC 5194)
dc.subjectgalaxies : ISM
dc.subjectHII regions
dc.subjectinfrared : galaxies
dc.subjectstars : formation
dc.subjectAstrophysics and Astronomy
dc.titleStar formation in NGC 5194 (M51a). II. The spatially resolved star formation law
dc.typearticle
dc.typearticle
digcom.contributor.authorKennicutt, RC
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:calzetti@astro.umass.edu|Calzetti, D
digcom.contributor.authorWalter, F
digcom.contributor.authorHelou, G
digcom.contributor.authorHollenbach, DJ
digcom.contributor.authorArmus, L
digcom.contributor.authorBendo, G
digcom.contributor.authorDale, DA
digcom.contributor.authorDraine, BT
digcom.contributor.authorEngelbracht, CW
digcom.contributor.authorGordon, KD
digcom.contributor.authorPrescott, MKM
digcom.contributor.authorRegan, MW
digcom.contributor.authorThornley, MD
digcom.contributor.authorBot, C
digcom.contributor.authorBrinks, E
digcom.contributor.authorDe Blok, E
digcom.contributor.authorDe Mello, D
digcom.contributor.authorMeyer, M
digcom.contributor.authorMoustakas, J
digcom.contributor.authorMurphy, EJ
digcom.contributor.authorSheth, K
digcom.contributor.authorSmith, JDT
digcom.identifierastro_faculty_pubs/146
digcom.identifier.contextkey1682831
digcom.identifier.submissionpathastro_faculty_pubs/146
dspace.entity.typePublication
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