The Connection between Molecular Gas and Star Formation in XUV Disks
Abstract
We found that star-forming regions in extended ultraviolet (XUV) disks are generally consistent with the molecular-hydrogen Kennicutt-Schmidt law that applies within the inner, optical disk. This is true for star formation rates based on Hα + 24 μm data or FUV + 24 μm data. We estimated that the star-forming regions have ages of 1 - 7 Myr and propose that the presence or absence of molecular gas provides an additional ``clock'' that may help distinguish between aging and stochasticity as the explanation for the low Hα-to-FUV flux ratios in XUV disks. This contribution is a summary of the work originally presented in Watson et al. (2016).
- Publication:
-
Formation and Evolution of Galaxy Outskirts
- Pub Date:
- March 2017
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921316011339
- Bibcode:
- 2017IAUS..321..214W
- Keywords:
-
- HII regions;
- ISM: molecules