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Radiation Pressure Feedback in Galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2011

B.H. Andrews
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, USA. e-mail: andrews@astronomy.ohio-state.edu & thompson@astronomy.ohio-state.edu
T.A. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, USA. e-mail: andrews@astronomy.ohio-state.edu & thompson@astronomy.ohio-state.edu The Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, The Ohio State University, USA
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Abstract

We evaluate radiation pressure from starlight on dust as a feedback mechanism in star-forming galaxies by comparing the luminosity and flux of star-forming systems to the dust Eddington limit. The linear LFIR\hbox{$L_{\rm HCN}^\prime$}LHCN′ correlation provides evidence that galaxies may be regulated by radiation pressure feedback. We show that star-forming galaxies approach but do not dramatically exceed Eddington, but many systems are significantly below Eddington, perhaps due to the “intermittency” of star formation. Better constraints on the dust-to-gas ratio and the CO- and HCN-to-H2 conversion factors are needed to make a definitive assessment of radiation pressure as a feedback mechanism.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences 2011

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References

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