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Over the past 10 Gyr, star-forming galaxies have changed dramatically, fromclumpy and gas rich, to rather quiescent stellar-dominated disks with specificstar formation rates lower by factors of a few tens. We present a generaltheoretical model for how this transition occurs, and what physical processesdrive it, making use of 1D axisymmetric thin disk simulations with an improvedversion of the Gravitational Instability-Dominated Galaxy Evolution Tool(GIDGET) code. We show that at every radius galaxies tend to be in a slowlyevolving equilibrium state wherein new accretion is balanced by star formation,galactic winds, and radial transport of gas through the disk by gravitationalinstability (GI) -driven torques. The gas surface density profile is determinedby which of these terms are in balance at a given radius - direct accretion isbalanced by star formation and galactic winds near galactic centers, and bytransport at larger radii. We predict that galaxies undergo a smooth transitionfrom a violent disk instability phase to secular evolution. This model providesa natural explanation for the high velocity dispersions and large clumps in z~2galaxies, the growth and subsequent quenching of bulges, and features of theneutral gas profiles of local spiral galaxies.

Balance among gravitational instability, star formation, and accretion determines the structure and evolution of disk galaxies