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Main Authors: Maeda, Fumiya, Ohta, Kouji, Egusa, Fumi, Fujimoto, Yusuke, Kobayashi, Masato I. N., Inoue, Shin, Habe, Asao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06102
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author Maeda, Fumiya
Ohta, Kouji
Egusa, Fumi
Fujimoto, Yusuke
Kobayashi, Masato I. N.
Inoue, Shin
Habe, Asao
author_facet Maeda, Fumiya
Ohta, Kouji
Egusa, Fumi
Fujimoto, Yusuke
Kobayashi, Masato I. N.
Inoue, Shin
Habe, Asao
contents While cloud-cloud collisions (CCCs) have been proposed as a mechanism for triggering massive star formation, it is suggested that higher collision velocities ($v_{\rm col}$) and lower GMC mass ($M_{\rm GMC}$) or/and density ($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) tend to suppress star formation. In this study, we choose the nearby barred galaxy NGC 3627 to examine the SFR and SFE of a colliding GMC ($m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$) and explore the connections between $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$, $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) and $v_{\rm col}$, and galactic structures (disk, bar, and bar-end). Using ALMA CO(2--1) data (60~pc resolution), we estimated $v_{\rm col}$ within 500~pc apertures, based on line-of-sight GMC velocities, assuming random motion in a two-dimensional plane. We extracted apertures where at least 0.1 collisions occur per 1 Myr, identifying them as regions dominated by CCC-driven star formation, and then calculated $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$ using attenuation-corrected H$α$ data from VLT MUSE. We found that both $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$ are lower in the bar (median values: $10^{3.84}~M_\odot$ and $0.18~\%$), and higher in the bar-end ($10^{4.89}~M_\odot$ and $1.10~\%$) compared to the disk ($10^{4.28}~M_\odot$ and $0.75~\%$). Furthermore, we found that structural differences within the parameter space of $v_{\rm col}$ and $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$), with higher $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) in the bar-end and higher $v_{\rm col}$ in the bar compared to the disk, lead to higher star formation activity in the bar-end and lower activity in the bar. Our results support the scenario that variations in CCC properties across different galactic structures can explain the observed differences in SFE on a kpc scale within a disk galaxy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_06102
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Galactic structure dependence of cloud-cloud collisions driven star formation in the barred galaxy NGC 3627
Maeda, Fumiya
Ohta, Kouji
Egusa, Fumi
Fujimoto, Yusuke
Kobayashi, Masato I. N.
Inoue, Shin
Habe, Asao
Astrophysics of Galaxies
While cloud-cloud collisions (CCCs) have been proposed as a mechanism for triggering massive star formation, it is suggested that higher collision velocities ($v_{\rm col}$) and lower GMC mass ($M_{\rm GMC}$) or/and density ($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) tend to suppress star formation. In this study, we choose the nearby barred galaxy NGC 3627 to examine the SFR and SFE of a colliding GMC ($m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$) and explore the connections between $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$, $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) and $v_{\rm col}$, and galactic structures (disk, bar, and bar-end). Using ALMA CO(2--1) data (60~pc resolution), we estimated $v_{\rm col}$ within 500~pc apertures, based on line-of-sight GMC velocities, assuming random motion in a two-dimensional plane. We extracted apertures where at least 0.1 collisions occur per 1 Myr, identifying them as regions dominated by CCC-driven star formation, and then calculated $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$ using attenuation-corrected H$α$ data from VLT MUSE. We found that both $m^\star_{\rm CCC}$ and $ε_{\rm CCC}$ are lower in the bar (median values: $10^{3.84}~M_\odot$ and $0.18~\%$), and higher in the bar-end ($10^{4.89}~M_\odot$ and $1.10~\%$) compared to the disk ($10^{4.28}~M_\odot$ and $0.75~\%$). Furthermore, we found that structural differences within the parameter space of $v_{\rm col}$ and $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$), with higher $M_{\rm GMC}$($Σ_{\rm GMC}$) in the bar-end and higher $v_{\rm col}$ in the bar compared to the disk, lead to higher star formation activity in the bar-end and lower activity in the bar. Our results support the scenario that variations in CCC properties across different galactic structures can explain the observed differences in SFE on a kpc scale within a disk galaxy.
title Galactic structure dependence of cloud-cloud collisions driven star formation in the barred galaxy NGC 3627
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06102