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The resolved star-formation efficiency of early-type galaxies

Understanding how and why star formation varies between galaxies is fundamental to our comprehension of galaxy evolution. In particular, the star-formation efficiency (SFE; star-formation rate or SFR per unit cold gas mass) has been shown to vary substantially both across and within galaxies. Early-...

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Main Authors: Williams, Thomas G. (Author) , Belfiore, Francesco (Author) , Bureau, Martin (Author) , Barnes, Ashley T. (Author) , Bigiel, Frank (Author) , Choi, Woorak (Author) , Chown, Ryan (Author) , Colombo, Dario (Author) , Dale, Daniel A. (Author) , Davis, Timothy A. (Author) , Elford, Jacob (Author) , Gensior, Jindra (Author) , Glover, Simon (Author) , Groves, Brent (Author) , Klessen, Ralf S. (Author) , Liang, Fu-Heng (Author) , Pan, Hsi-An (Author) , Ruffa, Ilaria (Author) , Saito, Toshiki (Author) , Sanchez-Blazquez, Patricia (Author) , Sarzi, Marc (Author) , Schinnerer, Eva (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: March 26, 2025
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Year: 2025, Volume: 538, Issue: 4, Pages: 3219-3246
ISSN:1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/staf498
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf498
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/538/4/3219/8096652
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Author Notes:Thomas G. Williams, Francesco Belfiore, Martin Bureau, Ashley T. Barnes, Frank Bigiel, Woorak Choi, Ryan Chown, Dario Colombo, Daniel A. Dale, Timothy A. Davis, Jacob Elford, Jindra Gensior, Simon C. O. Glover, Brent Groves, Ralf S. Klessen, Fu-Heng Liang, Hsi-An Pan, Ilaria Ruffa, Toshiki Saito, Patricia Sanchez-Blazquez, Marc Sarzi and Eva Schinnerer
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Summary:Understanding how and why star formation varies between galaxies is fundamental to our comprehension of galaxy evolution. In particular, the star-formation efficiency (SFE; star-formation rate or SFR per unit cold gas mass) has been shown to vary substantially both across and within galaxies. Early-type galaxies (ETGs) constitute an extreme case, as about a quarter have detectable molecular gas reservoirs but little to no detectable star formation. In this work, we present a spatially resolved view of the SFE in 10 ETGs, combining state-of-the-art Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations. Optical spectroscopic line diagnostics are used to identify the ionized emission regions dominated by star formation, and reject regions where the ionization arises primarily from other sources. We identify very few regions where the ionization is consistent with pure star formation. Using H alpha as our SFR tracer, we find that previous integrated measurements of the star-formation rate based on UV and 22 mu m emission are systematically higher than the SFR measured from H alpha. However, for the small number of regions where ionization is primarily associated with star formation, the SFEs are around 0.4 dex higher than those measured in star-forming galaxies at a similar spatial resolution (with depletion times ranging from 108 to 10(10) yr). Whilst the SFE of ETGs is overall low, we find that the SFEs of individual regions within ETGs can be similar to, or higher than, similar sized regions within star-forming galaxies.
Item Description:Advance Access Veröffentlichung: 26. März 2025
Gesehen am 01.06.2026
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/staf498

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