Dwarf galaxies form stars very inefficiently compared to spiral galaxies
like our Milky-Way. To investigate the origin of this deficiency in
star formation, scientists at MPA have used high-resolution numerical
simulations to resolve the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) in
dwarf galaxies. They find that supernova explosions have a significant
impact on the structure of the ISM and regulate the star formation rates
of the whole galaxy. The reservoir for star formation on scales
comparable to molecular clouds in our Milky Way consists mainly of cold
atomic hydrogen rather than molecular hydrogen. These findings might
also shed light into the birth processes of most other galaxies. Within
the current paradigm of hierarchical structure formation, low mass,
chemically un-evolved dwarf galaxies are the building blocks of all,
more massive galaxies.
In typical spiral galaxies, observations have shown a correlation
between the surface density of the local star formation rate and the gas
surface density, the so-called Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. The
correlation is almost linear, i.e. the gas is converted into stars on a
constant timescale of ~2 billion years. In the Milky-Way and other
spiral galaxies star formation appears to happen exclusively in regions
dominated by molecular gas.
However, this linear correlation breaks down in dwarf galaxies, where stars form very inefficiently on timescales that are much longer: 10-100 billion years. It is not yet clear whether the star forming gas in these dwarf galaxies consists mainly of molecules or atoms. Observations have not yet detected molecular gas but it has been speculated that an unseen molecular reservoir could dictate the star formation rate. This would provide an explanation for the longer star formation timescales in dwarf galaxies, which could be regulated by an inefficient transition from the atomic to molecular state.
Recently, scientists at MPA have investigated the star formation in dwarf galaxies using numerical hydro-dynamical simulations, which incorporate a wealth of relevant physical processes. In particular it is assumed that molecular hydrogen forms on dust grains and that interstellar UV starlight can destroy the molecules. The simulations were conducted at an unprecedented high resolution (with a spatial resolution of 2 Parsec and matter particles of 4 solar masses). The impact of individual supernova explosions is numerically resolved. Fig. 1 shows a snapshot of the gas surface density in one of the simulations at different spatial scales, demonstrating the complexity of the multi-phase gas structure.
The simulations suggest that the star formation reservoir (the cold
and dense gas) is predominately in the atomic phase, contrary to the
situation in spiral galaxies. This is because it takes much longer for
molecular hydrogen to form in a low-metallicity environment. As the ISM
is constantly shaken and stirred by supernova explosions, the molecular
hydrogen has no time to reach its (chemical) equilibrium abundance. The
supernova explosions inject energy and momentum into the gas, triggering
turbulence and shocks, much faster than the gas can cool or heat
through radiative processes. As such, the gas is also driven out of
thermal equilibrium (Fig. 2).
