Princeton University Star Formation/ISM Rendezvous (SFIR)

What regulates star formation and how to explain the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation is a longstanding issue. In this talk, I’ll present simulations of a kiloparsec cube section of a galaxy that show that stellar feedback is sufficient to explain observed star formation rates in Milky Way-like galaxies but not in high-redshift gas-rich galaxies. This suggests that another kind of support should be considered, and a possible candidate is the turbulence created by the large galactic scales. I'll show how such a turbulent driving can act on the star formation rate and discuss ongoing efforts to constrain it via simulations of entire galaxies.