A meta-analysis of cosmic star-formation history

A large deep and nearly complete B<24.5 redshift sample is used to measure the change in distribution function of the stellar mass production rate in individual galaxies with redshift. The evolution of the star formation rate distribution with redshift is interpreted in terms of the history of spiral galaxy formation, with the disk component modelled as a single evolving entity, and the characteristic timescales, luminosities, and epochs varying according to galaxy type. The ...

A debate is emerging regarding the recent inconsistent results of different studies for the Cosmic Star Formation Rate Density (CSFRD) at high-z. We employ UV and IR datasets to investigate the star formation rate function (SFRF) at ${\rm z \sim 0-9}$. We find that the SFRFs derived from the dust corrected ${\rm UV}$ (${\rm UV_{corr}}$) data contradict those from IR on some key issues since they are described by different distributions (Schechter vs double-power law), imply d...

Determination of the star formation rate can be done using mid-IR photometry or Balmer line luminosity after a proper correction for extinction effects. Both methods show convergent results while those based on UV or on [OII]3727 luminosities underestimate the SFR by factors ranging from 5 to 40 for starbursts and for luminous IR galaxies, respectively. Most of the evolution of the cosmic star formation density is related to the evolution of luminous compact galaxies and to l...

We present in these proceedings some preliminary results we have obtained studying the evolution of the specific star formation rate as a function of surface mass density and Sersic indices at z<0.7. These results are based on the consistent comparison of the properties of ~ 650 massive zCOSMOS galaxies in a mass-complete sample at 0.5<z<0.7 with a mass-complete sample of ~ 21500 SDSS local galaxies.

We use simple analytic reasoning to identify physical processes that drive the evolution of the cosmic star formation density in cold dark matter universes. Based on our analysis, we formulate a model to characterise the redshift dependence of the star formation history and compare it to results obtained from a set of hydrodynamic simulations which include star formation and feedback. At early times, densities are sufficiently high and cooling times sufficiently short that ab...

It has been argued that the specific star formation rates of star forming galaxies inferred from observational data decline more rapidly below z = 2 than is predicted by hierarchical galaxy formation models. We present a detailed analysis of this problem by comparing predictions from the GALFORM semi-analytic model with an extensive compilation of data on the average star formation rates of star-forming galaxies. We also use this data to infer the form of the stellar mass ass...

We try to constrain the cosmic molecular gas mass density at $z =1-1.5$ and that in the local universe by combining stellar mass functions of star-forming galaxies and their average molecular gas mass fractions against the stellar mass. The average molecular gas mass fractions are taken from recent CO observations of star-forming galaxies at the redshifts. The cosmic molecular gas mass density is obtained to be $\rho_{\rm H_2} = (6.8-8.8)~\times~10^7~M_\odot~{\rm Mpc}^{-3}$ a...

The cosmic star formation rate density first increases with time towards a pronounced peak 10 Gyrs ago (or z=1-2) and then slows down, dropping by more than a factor 10 since z=1. The processes at the origin of the star formation quenching are not yet well identified, either the gas is expelled by supernovae and AGN feedback, or prevented to inflow. Morphological transformation or environment effects are also invoked. Recent IRAM/NOEMA and ALMA results are reviewed about the ...

I review some recent progress made in our understanding of galaxy evolution and the cosmic history of star formation. Like bookends, the results obtained from deep ground-based spectroscopy and from the Hubble Deep Field imaging survey put brackets around the intermediate redshift interval, $1<z<2$, where starbirth probably peaked at a rate 10 times higher than today. The steady decline observed since $z\sim 1$ is largely associated with late-type galaxies. At $z\gtrsim 2.5$,...

The evolution of the galaxy stellar mass--star formation rate relationship (M*-SFR) provides key constraints on the stellar mass assembly histories of galaxies. For star-forming galaxies, M*-SFR is observed to be fairly tight with a slope close to unity from z~0-2. Simulations of galaxy formation reproduce these trends owing to the generic dominance of smooth and steady cold accretion in these systems. In contrast, the amplitude of the M*-SFR relation evolves markedly differe...