A panchromatic spatially resolved analysis of nearby galaxies – I. Sub-kpc-scale main sequence in grand-design spirals. Issue 3 (18th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Enia, A; Rodighiero, G; Morselli, L; Casasola, V; Bianchi, S; Rodriguez-Muñoz, L; Mancini, C; Renzini, A; Popesso, P; Cassata, P; Negrello, M; Franceschini, A
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 493:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 4107
• Page End: 4125
• Publication Date: 2020-02-18
• Subjects: galaxies: evolution -- galaxies: spirals -- galaxies: star formation; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa433
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We analyse the spatially resolved relation between stellar mass ( M ⋆ ) and star formation rate (SFR) in disc galaxies (i.e. the main sequence, MS). The studied sample includes eight nearby face-on grand-design spirals, e.g. the descendant of high-redshift, rotationally supported star-forming galaxies. We exploit photometric information over 23 bands, from the UV to the far-IR, from the publicly available DustPedia data base to build spatially resolved maps of stellar mass and SFRs on sub-galactic scales of 0.5–1.5 kpc, by performing a spectral energy distribution fitting procedure that accounts for both the observed and obscured star formation processes, over a wide range of internal galaxy environments (bulges, spiral arms, and outskirts). With more than 30 000 physical cells, we have derived a definition of the local spatially resolved MS per unit area for discs, log (ΣSFR ) = 0.82log (Σ* ) − 8.69. This is consistent with the bulk of recent results based on optical IFU, using the H α line emission as an SFR tracer. Our work extends the analysis at lower sensitivities in both M ⋆ and SFR surface densities, up to a factor of ∼10. The self-consistency of the MS relation over different spatial scales, from sub-galactic to galactic, as well as with a rescaled correlation obtained for high-redshift galaxies, clearly proves its universality.