Differences in star formation activity between tidally triggered and isolated bars: a case study of NGC 4303 and NGC 3627

TL;DR

This study compares star formation activity in two barred galaxies with different formation histories, revealing that while both bars boost star formation similarly, tidal interactions introduce distinctive features in gas distribution and star formation efficiency.

Contribution

The paper provides the first simulation-based comparison of star formation in tidally formed versus isolated bars, linking morphological features to formation mechanisms.

Findings

Both formation mechanisms trigger similar star formation boosts.

Tidal interactions cause unique gas and star formation efficiency patterns.

Distinctive features in tidal debris can indicate past interactions.

Abstract

Galactic bars are important drivers of galactic evolution, and yet how they impact the interstellar medium and correspondingly star formation, remains unclear. We present simulation results for two barred galaxies with different formation mechanisms, bars formed in isolation or via a tidal interaction, to consider the spatially and temporally varying trends of star formation. We focus on the early (< 1Gyr) epoch of bar formation so that the interaction is clearly identifiable. The nearby NGC 4303 (isolated) and NGC 3627 (interaction history) are selected as observational analogues to tailor these simulations. Regardless of formation mechanism, both models show similar internal dynamical features, although the interaction appears to promote bar-arm disconnection in the outer disc velocity structure. Both bars trigger similar boosts in star formation (79%; 66%), while the interaction also triggers an earlier 31% burst. Significant morphological dependence is observed in the relation between surface gas and star formation rate. In both cases, the bar component is notably steepest; the arm is similar to the overall disc average; and the inter-arm clearly the shallowest. A distinguishable feature of the tidal disc is the presence of moderately dense, inefficiently star forming gas mostly confined to tidal debris outside the optical disc. The tidal disc also exhibits a unique trend of radially increasing star formation efficiency and a clear dearth of star formation which persists along the bar between the centre and bar ends. These are potential signatures for identifying a barred system post-interaction.