CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 288Astrophysics and Star Formation StudiesGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations

What controls star formation in the central 500 pc of the Galaxy?

Open access
Kruijssen, J. M. Diederik, Longmore, Steven N., Elmegreen, Bruce G., Murray, Norman, Bally, John, Testi, Leonardo, Kennicutt, Robert C.·2014·Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DOI 10.1093/mnras/stu494
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

The star formation rate (SFR) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ, i.e. the central 500 pc) of the Milky Way is lower by a factor of ≥10 than expected for the substantial amount of dense gas it contains, which challenges current star formation theories. In this paper, we quantify which physical mechanisms could be responsible. On scales larger than the disc scaleheight, the low SFR is found to be consistent with episodic star formation due to secular instabilities or possibly variations of the gas inflow along the Galactic bar. The CMZ is marginally Toomre-stable when including gas and stars, but highly Toomre-stable when only accounting for the gas, indicating a low condensation rate of self-gravitating clouds. On small scales, we find that the SFR in the CMZ may be caused by an elevated critical density for star formation due to the high turbulent pressure. The existence of a universal density threshold for star formation is ruled out. The H i–H2 phase transition of hydrogen, the tidal field, a possible underproduction of massive stars due to a bottom-heavy initial mass function, magnetic fields, and cosmic ray or radiation pressure feedback also cannot individually explain the low SFR. We propose a self-consistent cycle of star formation in the CMZ, in which the effects of several different processes combine to inhibit star formation. The rate-limiting factor is the slow evolution of the gas towards collapse – once star formation is initiated it proceeds at a normal rate. The ubiquity of star formation inhibitors suggests that a lowered central SFR should be a common phenomenon in other galaxies. We discuss the implications for galactic-scale star formation and supermassive black hole growth, and relate our results to the star formation conditions in other extreme environments.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/mnras/stu494

Cites

226 of 226 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Detailed dynamical modeling suggests the gas accumulation time for the Milky-Way CMZ is about ~10-50 Myr, representing the expected time scale between two star-formation events, with each event lasting for a dynamical time of a few Myr at the CMZ.

    “Detailed dynamical modeling suggests that the gas accumulation time for the Milky-Way CMZis about ∼ 10 -50 Myr which represents the expected time scale between two star-formation events, with each event lasting for a dynamical time of a few Myr at the CMZ (Kruijssen et al. 2014; Krumholz et al. 2017; Armillotta et al. 2019, 2020; Sormani et al. 2020b).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Kruijssen et al. 2014

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. de Zeeuw T., 1993, in Dejonghe H., Habing H. J., eds, Proc. IAU Symp. 153, Galactic Bulges. Kluwer, Dordrecht, p. 191
  2. Elmegreen B. G., 1993, in Franco J., Ferrini F., Tenorio-Tagle G., eds, Star Formation, Galaxies and the Interstellar Medium. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, p. 337
  3. Elmegreen B. G., 1997, Rev. Mex. Astron. Astrofis. Conf. Ser., 6, 165
  4. Morris M., 1989, in Morris M., ed., Proc. IAU Symp. 136, The Center of the Galaxy. Kluwer, Dordrecht, p. 171
  5. Padoan P., Federrath C., Chabrier G., Evans N. J., II, Johnstone D., Jørgensen J. K., McKee C. F., Nordlund Å., 2014, Protostars and Planets VI, preprint (arXiv:1312.5365) · arXiv
  6. Rathborne J. M. et al., 2014, ApJ, preprint (arXiv:1403.0996) · arXiv
  7. Scoville N. Z., Sanders D. B., 1987, in Hollenbach D. J., Thronson H. A., Jr, eds, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 134, Interstellar Processes. Reidel, Dordrecht, p.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Kruijssen, J. M. D., Longmore, S. N., Elmegreen, B. G., Murray, N., Bally, J., Testi, L., & Kennicutt, R. C.
Affiliations
  • Max Planck Society (DE)
  • European Southern Observatory (DE)
  • IBM Research - Thomas J. Watson Research Center (US)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
Kruijssen, J. M. Diederik
ORCID
Venue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2014-04-17
Volume
440
Issue
4
Pages
3370-3391
ISSN
  • 0035-8711 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2966
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stu494
OpenAlex
W1974701556
Cited by
288
References
226
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 2
FWCI
18.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (publishedVersion)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (acceptedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
  • Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1066293)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Aspen Center for Physics (1066293, PHY-1066293)
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/L00061X/1, ST/H00243X/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
Keywords
star formation rate, Central Molecular Zone, Milky Way, secular instability, galactic bars, gas inflow, turbulent pressure, critical density threshold, tidal field, magnetic field, cosmic ray feedback, supermassive black hole growth, dense gas

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review