Quenching star formation: Insights from the local main sequence

S. K. Leslie; L. J. Kewley; D. B. Sanders; N. Lee

doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slv135

Quenching star formation: Insights from the local main sequence

S. K. Leslie^*, L. J. Kewley, D. B. Sanders, N. Lee

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

72 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The so-called star-forming main sequence of galaxies is the apparent tight relationship between the star formation rate and stellar mass of a galaxy.Many studies exclude galaxies which are not strictly 'star forming' from themain sequence, because they do not lie on the same tight relation. Using local galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have classified galaxies according to their emission line ratios, and studied their location on the star formation rate-stellar mass plane. We find that galaxies form a sequence from the 'blue cloud' galaxies which are actively forming stars, through a combination of composite, Seyfert, and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxies, ending as 'red-and-dead' galaxies. The sequence supports an evolutionary pathway for galaxies in which star formation quenching by active galactic nuclei plays a key role.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	L82-L86
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	455
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slv135
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2016

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title = "Quenching star formation: Insights from the local main sequence",

abstract = "The so-called star-forming main sequence of galaxies is the apparent tight relationship between the star formation rate and stellar mass of a galaxy.Many studies exclude galaxies which are not strictly 'star forming' from themain sequence, because they do not lie on the same tight relation. Using local galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have classified galaxies according to their emission line ratios, and studied their location on the star formation rate-stellar mass plane. We find that galaxies form a sequence from the 'blue cloud' galaxies which are actively forming stars, through a combination of composite, Seyfert, and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxies, ending as 'red-and-dead' galaxies. The sequence supports an evolutionary pathway for galaxies in which star formation quenching by active galactic nuclei plays a key role.",

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author = "Leslie, {S. K.} and Kewley, {L. J.} and Sanders, {D. B.} and N. Lee",

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N2 - The so-called star-forming main sequence of galaxies is the apparent tight relationship between the star formation rate and stellar mass of a galaxy.Many studies exclude galaxies which are not strictly 'star forming' from themain sequence, because they do not lie on the same tight relation. Using local galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have classified galaxies according to their emission line ratios, and studied their location on the star formation rate-stellar mass plane. We find that galaxies form a sequence from the 'blue cloud' galaxies which are actively forming stars, through a combination of composite, Seyfert, and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxies, ending as 'red-and-dead' galaxies. The sequence supports an evolutionary pathway for galaxies in which star formation quenching by active galactic nuclei plays a key role.

AB - The so-called star-forming main sequence of galaxies is the apparent tight relationship between the star formation rate and stellar mass of a galaxy.Many studies exclude galaxies which are not strictly 'star forming' from themain sequence, because they do not lie on the same tight relation. Using local galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have classified galaxies according to their emission line ratios, and studied their location on the star formation rate-stellar mass plane. We find that galaxies form a sequence from the 'blue cloud' galaxies which are actively forming stars, through a combination of composite, Seyfert, and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxies, ending as 'red-and-dead' galaxies. The sequence supports an evolutionary pathway for galaxies in which star formation quenching by active galactic nuclei plays a key role.

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Quenching star formation: Insights from the local main sequence

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