A Simple Law of Star Formation

We show that supersonic MHD turbulence yields a star formation rate (SFR) as low as observed in molecular clouds (MCs), for characteristic values of the free-fall time divided by the dynamical time, $t_{\rm ff}/t_{\rm dyn}$, the alfvénic Mach number, ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$, and the sonic Mach number, ${\cal M}_{\rm s}$. Using a very large set of deep adaptive-mesh-refinement simulations, we quantify the dependence of the SFR per free-fall time, $ε_{\rm ff}$, on the above parameters. Our main results are: i) $ε_{\rm ff}$ decreases exponentially with increasing $t_{\rm ff}/t_{\rm dyn}$, but is insensitive to changes in ${\cal M}_{\rm s}$, for constant values of $t_{\rm ff}/t_{\rm dyn}$ and ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$. ii) Decreasing values of ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$ (stronger magnetic fields) reduce $ε_{\rm ff}$, but only to a point, beyond which $ε_{\rm ff}$ increases with a further decrease of ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$. iii) For values of ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$ characteristic of star-forming regions, $ε_{\rm ff}$ varies with ${\cal M}_{\rm a}$ by less than a factor of two. We propose a simple star-formation law, based on the empirical fit to the minimum $ε_{\rm ff}$, and depending only on $t_{\rm ff}/t_{\rm dyn}$: $ε_{\rm ff} \approx ε_{\rm wind} \exp(-1.6 \,t_{\rm ff}/t_{\rm dyn})$. Because it only depends on the mean gas density and rms velocity, this law is straightforward to implement in simulations and analytical models of galaxy formation and evolution.

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