Kennicutt–Schmidt law

The Schmidt- Kennicutt law describes an empirical link between the star formation rate and the gas density of the interstellar medium. The relationship was first described by Maarten Schmidt for the solar neighborhood in the Milky Way and transferred by Robert Kennicutt to other galaxies.

The relationship between the star formation rate SFR in solar masses per year and Quadratparsec as well as cumulative in the line of sight gas density in grams per Quadratparsec is the relationship

Described. The parameter n is universally describe with and is not dependent on the metallicity of the star formation history and the population composition of galaxies. A strong deviation from the Schmidt- Kennicutt law show starburst galaxies that show due to an interaction with other galaxies a temporarily higher rate of star formation. The Schmidt- Kennicutt Law applies at least five billion years into the past and a further extension to higher redshifts is suspected. The simple empirical relationship between the star formation rate and the gas density is used in the simulation of the evolution of galaxies.

Sources

• Astrophysical process