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Paper: Properties of the ISM in Disc Galaxies with Stellar Feedback\footnotemark
Volume: 453, Advances in Computational Astrophysics: Methods, Tools, and Outcome
Page: 277
Authors: Dobbs, C.
Abstract: We present calculations of isolated disc galaxies to investigate how the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM), the nature of molecular clouds, and the global star formation rate depend on the level of stellar feedback. We include a galactic potential, a standard cooling and heating prescription of the ISM, and self gravity of the gas. Stellar feedback is implemented by injecting energy into dense, gravitationally collapsing gas, but is independent of the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation. Supernovae are found to be essential to reproduce the vertical structure of the ISM, whilst the properties of the giant molecular clouds (GMCs) formed agree with observations provided there is a non-negligible degree of feedback. The star formation rates we obtain are in good agreement with the observed Schmidt-Kennicutt relation, and are not strongly dependent on the star formation efficiency we assume, being largely self regulated by the feedback. The presence of an m=4 spiral component to the potential does not have an explicit effect on the star formation rate, but can increase the star formation rate indirectly by enabling the formation of more massive clouds.
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