Numerical simulations of bubble-induced star formation in dwarf irregular galaxies with a novel stellar feedback scheme

Kawata, Daisuke; Gibson, Brad K.; Barnes, David J.; Grand, Robert J.J.; Rahimi, Awat

Abstract

To study the star formation and feedback mechanism, we simulate the evolution of an isolated dwarf irregular galaxy (dIrr) in a fixed dark matter halo, similar in size to Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte, using a new stellar feedback scheme. We use the new version of our original N-body/smoothed particle chemodynamics code, GCD+, which adopts improved hydrodynamics, metal diffusion between the gas particles and new modelling of star formation and stellar wind and supernovae feedback. Comparing the simulations with and without stellar feedback effects, we demonstrate that the collisions of bubbles produced by strong feedback can induce star formation in a more widely spread area. We also demonstrate that the metallicity in star-forming regions is kept low due to the mixing of the metal-rich bubbles and the metal-poor interstellar medium. Our simulations also suggest that the bubble-induced star formation leads to many counter-rotating stars. The bubble-induced star formation could be a dominant mechanism to maintain star formation in dIrrs, which is different from larger spiral galaxies where the non-axisymmetric structures, such as spiral arms, are a main driver of star formation.

Citation

Kawata, D., Gibson, B. K., Barnes, D. J., Grand, R. J., & Rahimi, A. (2014). Numerical simulations of bubble-induced star formation in dwarf irregular galaxies with a novel stellar feedback scheme. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 438(2), 1208-1222. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt2267

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 21, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Dec 19, 2013
• Publication Date: Feb 21, 2014
• Deposit Date: Apr 14, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 14, 2016
• Journal: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2966
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 438
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1208-1222
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt2267
• Keywords: Hydrodynamics, ISM : bubbles, Galaxies : dwarf
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/436072
• Publisher URL: http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/438/2/1208
• Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.