Abstract
The process of star formation is at the core of the evolutionary cycle of galaxies, as newborn stars produce new chemical elements, dust, and light. The energetic output delivered first by stellar winds and then by supernovae a few Myr after a star formation episode may also directly impact on the evolution of galaxies and their interstellar medium (ISM), as well as having an effect on the intergalactic medium (IGM), through feedback and outflows.This chapter concerns star formation on galactic scales. First, the galactic processes that may affect large-scale star formation are presented. Second, the various methods to measure star formation rates are discussed (star formation tracers, timescales, calibrations, limits). Finally, the observational status concerning star formation in galaxies (its relation to other quantities and its evolution) is presented. The Schmidt Law (star formation rate–gas relationship) is amply discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
To account for the abundance of the other elements (mostly Helium), a corrective factor \(\sim \)1.36 is sometimes used to go from HI to neutral and from H 2 to the molecular contents. On the other hand, some authors call “total gas” the sum of the HI and H 2 masses, i.e., the total mass of hydrogen, not including this factor.
- 3.
See however the final remark of Sect. 4.2.1
Abbreviations
- FIR:
-
Far infrared
- GMC:
-
Giant molecular clouds
- IGM:
-
Intergalactic medium
- IMF:
-
Initial mass function
- ISM:
-
Interstellar medium
- SFH:
-
Star formation history
- SFR:
-
Star formation rate
- SSFR:
-
Specific star formation rate
- YSO:
-
Young stellar objects
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Acknowledgements
It is a pleasure to thank many collaborators with whom I had the chance to discuss various aspects of star formation during the past 10 years, especially Barry Madore and Nikos Prantos. In the process of writing this chapter, I also had stimulating discussions with my colleagues at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, especially Alessandro Boselli, Véronique Buat, Denis Burgarella, Sébastien Heinis, Olivier Ilbert, and Olga Cucciati. I am thankful for even the shortest discussions we had, and their encouragements. I also thank Jarle Brinchmann who replied to my e-mails instantaneously with clear answers to my questions.
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Boissier, S. (2013). Star Formation in Galaxies. In: Oswalt, T.D., Keel, W.C. (eds) Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5609-0_3
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