The Kennicutt-Schmidt law has provided an important framework for understanding the most plausible physical processes regulating the formation of stars from molecular gas. In this study we explore how the local surface density of star formation (SigmaSFR) correlates with the molecular fraction of the interstellar medium (ISM), which in turn is intimately linked to the hydrostatic mid-plane pressure (Ph). This is based on more than 2500 galaxies included in the integral field unit SDSS-IV MaNGA survey. The spatially resolved data provided by the MaNGA survey also allows us to determine a wide variety of parameters at kpc-scales, including the local gas and stellar surface mass densities (Sigmagas and Sigma∗, respectively). We use these two parameters to estimate the local Ph. Our results indicate a linear relation between SigmaSFR and Ph. Since the source of the turbulent and thermal pressure on kpc- scales in the ISM is primarily the energy and momentum supplied by the population of massive stars, our result suggests the possibility of a feedback loop in which the local star-formation rate is determined by Ph and vice versa.
Enviado por jkbarrerab@astro.unam.mx, 2019 Oct