How do galaxies form?

A study of galaxies indicates that galaxy formation may be regulated by a single parameter. This unexpected finding shows that prevailing views on the process could need revision. Galactic structure: a simple answer At first glance a galaxy looks pretty complicated: each contains billions of stars s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 455; no. 7216; pp. 1049 - 1051
Main Author van den Bergh, Sidney
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.10.2008
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Humanities and Social Sciences
Luminosity
multidisciplinary
news-and-views
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Stars & galaxies
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Summary:A study of galaxies indicates that galaxy formation may be regulated by a single parameter. This unexpected finding shows that prevailing views on the process could need revision. Galactic structure: a simple answer At first glance a galaxy looks pretty complicated: each contains billions of stars subject to many influences including gravity, rotation and radiation. The hierarchical theory of galaxy formation — currently fashionable — holds that they are assembled from smaller pieces, through many mergers of cold dark matter, and that the properties of an individual galaxy are determined by six independent parameters. Now a survey of 200 individual galaxies suggests that things are simpler than that, and that galactic structure is controlled by one single parameter. Though frustratingly, it is not yet clear which parameter that is. This level of organization is at odds with hierarchical galaxy formation and the predictions of cold dark matter cosmology.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/4551049a