vice.singlezone.schmidt

Type : bool

Default : False

If true, the simulation will adopt a gas-dependent \(\tau_*\). At each timestep, the star formation efficiency timescale is determined via:

\[\tau_*(t) = \tau_{*,\text{specified}}(t) \left( \frac{M_g}{M_{g,\text{Schmidt}}} \right)^{-\alpha}\]

where \(\tau_{*,\text{specified}}(t)\) is the value of the attribute tau_star, \(M_g\) is the mass of the interstellar medium, \(M_{g,\text{Schmidt}}\) the normalization thereof (attribute MgSchmidt), and \(\alpha\) the power-law index set by the attribute schmidt_index.

This is an application of the Kennicutt-Schmidt star formation law to the single-zone approximation (Kennicutt 1998 1; Schmidt 1959 2, 1963 3).

If False, this parameter does not impact the star formation efficiency that the user has specified.

See also

  • vice.singlezone.tau_star

  • vice.singlezone.schmidt_index

  • vice.singlezone.MgSchmidt

Example Code

>>> import vice
>>> sz = vice.singlezone(name = "example")
>>> sz.schmidt = True
>>> sz.schmidt = False
1

Kennicutt (1998), ApJ, 498, 541

2

Schmidt (1959), ApJ, 129, 243

3

Schmidt (1963), ApJ, 137, 758