A phenomenological approach to the evolution of galaxies

TL;DR

This paper introduces a phenomenological framework using continuity equations to understand galaxy evolution, shedding light on star-formation quenching, merging effects, and the interplay between star-formation and chemical evolution.

Contribution

It presents a novel phenomenological approach based on continuity equations to analyze galaxy evolution, offering new insights into star-formation regulation and galaxy population dynamics.

Findings

Insights into star-formation quenching mechanisms

Understanding the role of merging in galaxy evolution

Identification of SFR as a second parameter in the mass-metallicity relation

Abstract

Increasingly good statistical data on the galaxy population at high and low redshift enable the development of new phenomenological approaches to galaxy evolution based on application of the simplest continuity equations. This has given new insights into the different ways in which star-formation in galaxies is quenched, the role of merging in the population, and into the control of star-formation in star-forming galaxies and the links between this and chemical evolution, in particular the existence of SFR as a second parameter in the mass-metallicity relation. The continuity approach provides a self-consistent view of the evolving population and exposes linkages between different aspects of galaxy evolution.