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arXiv · 1208.0315

The Schmidt-Kennicutt Law of Matched-Age Star Forming Regions; Pa-alpha Observations of the Early-Phase Interacting Galaxy Taffy I

S. Komugi·K. Tateuchi·K. Motohara·T. Takagi·D. Iono·H. Kaneko·J. Ueda·T. R. Saitoh·N. Kato·M. Konishi·S. Koshida·T. Morokuma·H. Takahashi·T. Tanabe·Y. Yoshii
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Abstract

In order to test a recent hypothesis that the dispersion in the Schmidt-Kennicutt law arises from variations in the evolutionary stage of star forming molecular clouds, we compared molecular gas and recent star formation in an early-phase merger galaxy pair, Taffy I (UGC\ 12915/UGC\ 12914, VV\ 254) which went through a direct collision 20 Myr ago and whose star forming regions are expected to have similar ages. Narrow-band Pa-alpha image is obtained using the ANIR near-infrared camera on the mini-TAO 1m telescope. The image enables us to derive accurate star formation rates within the galaxy directly. The total star formation rate, 22.2 M_sun/yr, was found to be much higher than previous estimates. Ages of individual star forming blobs estimated from equivalent widths indicate that most star forming regions are ~7 Myr old, except for a giant HII region at the bridge which is much younger. Comparison between star formation rates and molecular gas masses for the regions with the same age exhibits a surprisingly tight correlation, a slope of unity, and star formation efficiencies comparable to those of starburst galaxies. These results suggest that Taffy I has just evolved into a starburst system after the collision, and the star forming sites are at a similar stage in their evolution from natal molecular clouds except for the bridge region. The tight Schmidt-Kennicutt law supports the scenario that dispersion in the star formation law is in large part due to differences in evolutionary stage of star forming regions.

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S. Komugi, K. Tateuchi, K. Motohara, T. Takagi, D. Iono, H. Kaneko, J. Ueda, T. R. Saitoh, N. Kato, M. Konishi, S. Koshida, T. Morokuma, H. Takahashi, T. Tanabe, Y. Yoshii. 2012-08-01. The Schmidt-Kennicutt Law of Matched-Age Star Forming Regions; Pa-alpha Observations of the Early-Phase Interacting Galaxy Taffy I. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/757/2/138

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