Bibcode
Sánchez Almeida, J.; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Muñoz-Tuñón, C.; Elmegreen, Debra Meloy
Bibliographical reference
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume 22, article id. #71
Advertised on:
7
2014
Citations
174
Refereed citations
159
Description
Numerical simulations predict that metal-poor gas accretion from the
cosmic web fuels the formation of disk galaxies. This paper discusses
how cosmic gas accretion controls star formation, and summarizes the
physical properties expected for the cosmic gas accreted by galaxies.
The paper also collects observational evidence for gas accretion
sustaining star formation. It reviews evidence inferred from neutral and
ionized hydrogen, as well as from stars. A number of properties
characterizing large samples of star-forming galaxies can be explained
by metal-poor gas accretion, in particular, the relationship among
stellar mass, metallicity, and star-formation rate (the so-called
fundamental metallicity relationship). They are put forward and
analyzed. Theory predicts gas accretion to be particularly important at
high redshift, so indications based on distant objects are reviewed,
including the global star-formation history of the universe, and the gas
around galaxies as inferred from absorption features in the spectra of
background sources.
Related projects
Starbursts in Galaxies GEFE
Starsbursts play a key role in the cosmic evolution of galaxies, and thus in the star formation (SF) history of the universe, the production of metals, and the feedback coupling galaxies with the cosmic web. Extreme SF conditions prevail early on during the formation of the first stars and galaxies, therefore, the starburst phenomenon constitutes a
Casiana
Muñoz Tuñón