Open AccessShock‐induced star formation in a model of the Mice
Author(s) -
Barnes Joshua E.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07725.x
Subject(s) - physics , star formation , astrophysics , star (game theory) , shock (circulatory) , galaxy , dissipation , shock wave , astronomy , mechanics , quantum mechanics , medicine
Star formation plays an important role in the fate of interacting galaxies. To date, most galactic simulations including star formation have used a density‐dependent star formation rule designed to approximate a Schmidt law. Here, I present a new star formation rule which is governed by the local rate of energy dissipation in shocks. The new and old rules are compared using self‐consistent simulations of NGC 4676; shock‐induced star formation provides a better match to the observations of this system.