Do Stellar Bars Influence Star Formation and Chemical Enrichment in Galaxies?

Project Description

Stellar bars are elongated structures commonly observed in disk galaxies. They are believed to redistribute matter, including gas, stars, metals, and dust, by driving radial inflows toward the central regions. This process can significantly reshape the internal structure of galaxies, altering the spatial distribution of material and potentially triggering central star formation or modifying chemical abundance patterns.

Since gas inflow, star formation, and chemical enrichment are fundamental processes in galaxy evolution, understanding the role of stellar bars is essential. However, despite their prevalence in disk galaxies, the extent to which stellar bars systematically influence star formation activity and metallicity distributions remains an open question

This summer project aims to investigate whether the presence of a stellar bar has a measurable impact on: (1) global star formation rates, (2) radial star formation profiles, and (3) gas-phase metallicity distributions.

The student will use observational data from the MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) survey to compare barred and non-barred galaxies with similar stellar mass and morphology. By constructing matched samples, the project will isolate the effect of bars from other galaxy properties. Statistical analyses will be performed to quantify differences in star formation rates and metallicity properties between the two populations. This study will help clarify whether stellar bars play a significant role in regulating galaxy growth and chemical evolution, and contribute to our broader understanding of how galaxies evolve over time.