# The extended law of star formation: the combined role of gas and stars

## TL;DR

This paper introduces an extended star formation law that incorporates gas, stars, and turbulence, providing a better explanation for observed star formation rates and their scatter in galaxy disks.

## Contribution

It presents a new model linking star formation rate to both gas and stellar properties, emphasizing the combined influence of stars and turbulence on star formation.

## Key findings

- Model explains observed star formation trends in NGC 628
- Dependence on stars and turbulence accounts for scatter in relations
- Highlights the role of existing stars in gravitational instabilities

## Abstract

We present a model for the origin of the extended law of star formation in which the surface density of star formation ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$) depends not only on the local surface density of the gas ($\Sigma_{g}$), but also on the stellar surface density ($\Sigma_{*}$), the velocity dispersion of the stars, and on the scaling laws of turbulence in the gas. We compare our model with the spiral, face-on galaxy NGC 628 and show that the dependence of the star formation rate on the entire set of physical quantities for both gas and stars can help explain both the observed general trends in the $\Sigma_{g}-\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ and $\Sigma_{*}-\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ relations, but also, and equally important, the scatter in these relations at any value of $\Sigma_{g}$ and $\Sigma_{*}$. Our results point out to the crucial role played by existing stars along with the gaseous component in setting the conditions for large scale gravitational instabilities and star formation in galactic disks.