Stellar Feedback Mechanisms in Galaxy Formation
Summary
Stellar feedback encompasses the processes by which newly formed stars return energy, momentum and newly synthesised elements to their surroundings. Radiation pressure from massive stars, powerful stellar winds and the explosive blasts of supernovae collectively shape the interstellar medium (ISM), creating a self-regulating cycle that governs star formation and galaxy evolution. Feedback drives turbulence, sustains a multiphase ISM and can expel gas in galactic outflows, thereby influencing the chemical enrichment of the circumgalactic and intergalactic media. By balancing gas accretion and dissipation, these mechanisms establish key observables such as the star formation rate, the mass–metallicity relation and the faint-end slope of the galaxy luminosity function. Understanding stellar feedback is therefore essential to bridge theoretical models and observations, from the inner structure of star-forming regions to the large-scale properties of galaxies across cosmic time.
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Stellar Feedback Mechanisms in Galaxy Formation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in stellar feedback mechanisms in galaxy formation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Interstellar medium (ISM): The diffuse gas and dust filling the space between stars in a galaxy, existing in multiple thermal and density phases.
Supernova feedback: The injection of energy and momentum into the ISM following the explosive death of massive stars, driving turbulence and outflows.
Star formation rate (SFR): The mass of gas converted into stars per unit time, often expressed in solar masses per year.
Mass-loading factor: The ratio of the mass outflow rate to the star formation rate, indicating the efficiency of feedback-driven winds in removing gas.
Superbubble: A large cavity in the ISM formed by the overlapping of multiple supernova remnants and stellar winds, which can break out of the galactic disc to drive large-scale outflows.
References
- Photochemistry and Heating/Cooling of the Multiphase Interstellar Medium with UV Radiative Transfer for Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (2022).
- Pressure-regulated, Feedback-modulated Star Formation in Disk Galaxies. The Astrophysical Journal (2022).
- Bursting Bubbles: Feedback from Clustered Supernovae and the Trade-off Between Turbulence and Outflows. The Astrophysical Journal (2022).
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