pith. sign in

arxiv: 1907.10423 · v1 · pith:BYV63SZUnew · submitted 2019-07-24 · 🌌 astro-ph.GA

An rm Hα Imaging Survey of the Low Surface Brightness Galaxies Selected from the Spring Sky Region of the 40% ALFALFA HI Survey

Pith reviewed 2026-05-24 16:51 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🌌 astro-ph.GA
keywords low surface brightness galaxiesALFALFA HI surveyHα imagingstar formation rateKennicutt-Schmidt lawextended Schmidt lawHI gas surface density
0
0 comments X

The pith

Gas-rich low surface brightness galaxies deviate from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law but follow the extended Schmidt law that includes stellar mass.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

This paper reports narrowband Hα imaging of 357 gas-rich LSBGs drawn from the spring sky portion of the 40 percent ALFALFA HI survey. After correcting the Hα fluxes for Galactic and internal extinction plus [NII] contamination, the authors derive global star formation rates and surface densities. Compared with normal star-forming galaxies the LSBGs show similar HI surface densities yet much lower SFRs and Σ_SFR. The sample clearly falls below the standard Kennicutt-Schmidt relation between Σ_SFR and Σ_gas, yet lies on the extended Schmidt law once stellar mass surface density is folded in.

Core claim

The gas-rich LSBGs selected from the ALFALFA survey obviously deviate from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law in the relation between the star formation surface density (Σ_SFR) and the gas surface density (Σ_gas). However, they follow the extended Schmidt law well when taking the stellar mass of the galaxy into consideration.

What carries the argument

The extended Schmidt law, a relation linking Σ_SFR to both gas surface density and stellar mass surface density.

If this is right

  • Star formation efficiency in these diffuse galaxies is suppressed relative to normal disks at the same gas density.
  • Stellar mass surface density appears to be a necessary second parameter for predicting star formation rate in low-density systems.
  • Global SFRs remain low even though the galaxies contain substantial HI reservoirs.
  • The result applies specifically to gas-rich LSBGs selected by HI flux rather than to all low-surface-brightness objects.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The finding suggests that existing stars may help trigger or regulate new star formation in low-density environments through gravitational effects.
  • Higher-resolution Hα or UV maps could test whether the extended law holds locally inside individual galaxies or only globally.
  • Models of galaxy evolution that omit stellar mass as a regulator may underpredict the longevity of HI-rich LSBGs.

Load-bearing premise

The internal extinction correction and [NII] contamination correction applied to the Hα fluxes are accurate and uniform across the sample of LSBGs.

What would settle it

A re-reduction of the same Hα images with substantially different internal extinction values or with spatially resolved maps that show the galaxies actually obey the standard Kennicutt-Schmidt relation would falsify the reported deviation.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 1907.10423 by Bing-Qing Zhang, Feng-Jie Lei, Hong Wu, Jun-Jie Jin, Min He, Pin-Song Zhao, Wei Du, Yi-Nan Zhu.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Sky distribution of the LSBGs. The solid circles and squares are the 1129 LSBGs from Du et al. (2015). The blue squares refer to the observed LSBGs in the fall sky re￾gion. The red solid circles are the observed LSBGs in the spring sky region. The others (gray solid circles) are the unobserved objects due to the limitation of the observation time. Du et al. (2015) selected 1129 LSBGs from the α.40- SDSS-DR… view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Histograms of six parameters of the observed LSBGs in the fall (blue) and spring (red) sky region and the whole LSBGs of Du2015 (black). (a): Central surface brightness in the B band with a bin size of 0.25 . (b): Heliovelocity of an HI source in units of km s−1 . (c): Distance in Mpc from the α.40 catalog (Haynes et al. 2011). (d): Radii at a 50% fraction of light in r band in units of kpc. (e): HI mass f… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: Color effect. The calculated WNCRs of the field stars in an example image as a function of their g − r colors. The blue pluses are stars after 1σ clipping (black pluses) and are used to fit the line. Given the color of target galaxy (red solid circle), the WNCR can be derived from the fitting. and adopt the best WNCR value when the residual of fluxes of most field stars reaches a minimum (Kennicutt et al. … view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Here shows the SDSS rgb images, the R-band images, and the continuum-subtracted Hα images of five representative galaxies from left to right. The yellow ellipses are the photometric apertures [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_4.png] view at source ↗
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: Distribution of FHα/FHβ of 510 LSBGs with SDSS spectra. 16 15 14 13 12 11 log F(H ) [erg cm 2 s 1 ] Our sample 16 15 14 13 12 11 H 3 lo g F(H ) [erg cm 2 s 1 ] Virgo cluster (Gavazzi et al. 2012) Coma cluster (Gavazzi et al. 2015) [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_5.png] view at source ↗
Figure 6
Figure 6. Figure 6: Comparison of the Hα flux of the common LSBGs from our sample and the Hα3 survey. The blue solid circles are galaxies matched with the Virgo cluster (Gavazzi et al. 2012). The red solid circles are galaxies matched with the Coma cluster (Gavazzi et al. 2015). The error bars of the Hα flux are from both our and the Hα3 measurements. Mathis (CCM) extinction law, which is applicable to both diffuse and dense … view at source ↗
Figure 7
Figure 7. Figure 7: Distributions of the (a) SFR, (b) star formation efficiency of HI, (c) star formation surface density and (d) HI mass surface density. Black lines show the corresponding distributions of our observed spring LSBGs. In panel (a) and (b), the blue and red lines show the distributions of the star-forming galaxies and starburst galaxies from Young et al. (1996) and Jaskot et al. (2015), respectively. In panel (… view at source ↗
Figure 8
Figure 8. Figure 8: (a1), (a2): MHI/M∗ vs. M∗. (b1),(b2): the SFR vs. M∗. (c1),(c2): SFR/MHI vs. MHI. The left panels present the comparison galaxies, which are the dwarf galaxies (purple pluses), the galaxies in the Coma (black pluses) and Virgo clusters (brown pluses) from the Hα3 survey and the galaxies (gray pluses) from xGASS. The right panels show three types of our LSBGs: the giant LSBGs (blue open circles ), the inter… view at source ↗
Figure 9
Figure 9. Figure 9: The relation between the SFR surface density and HI gas surface density. Our LSBGs sample are the black solid circles. The blue open circles are the star-forming galaxies from Kennicutt (1998a). The orange stars are the LSBGs from Wyder et al. (2009). In [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p010_9.png] view at source ↗
Figure 10
Figure 10. Figure 10: The Kennicutt-Schmidt Law. Our LSBGs sample are black solid circles. The blue dots and green dots are the star-forming galaxies and starburst galaxies from Kennicutt (1998a). All the other symbols in the low-right box are collected by Shi et al. (2011). The black solid line is the Kennicutt-Schmidt Law, three dotted lines showing the SFE of 100%,10%,1% in a timescale of star formation of 108 yr. The brown… view at source ↗
Figure 11
Figure 11. Figure 11: The Extended Schmidt law. All the symbols are the same as those in [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p012_11.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

We present a narrow $\rm H\alpha$-band imaging survey of 357 low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) that are selected from the spring sky region of the 40% Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFALFA) HI Survey. All the $\rm H\alpha$ images are obtained from the 2.16 m telescope, operated by Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We provide the $\rm H\alpha$ fluxes and derive the global star formation rates (SFRs) of LSBGs after the Galactic extinction, internal extinction, and [NII] contamination correction. Comparing to normal star-forming galaxies, LSBGs have a similar distribution in the HI surface density ($\rm \Sigma_{HI}$), but their SFRs and star formation surface density ($\rm \Sigma_{SFR}$) are much lower. Our results show that the gas-rich LSBGs selected from the ALFALFA survey obviously deviate from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law, in the relation between the star formation surface density ($\rm \Sigma_{SFR}$) and the gas surface density ($\rm \Sigma_{gas}$). However, they follow the extended Schmidt law well when taking the stellar mass of the galaxy into consideration.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 1 minor

Summary. The manuscript presents narrow-band Hα imaging of 357 gas-rich low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) selected from the spring-sky portion of the 40% ALFALFA HI survey. Global SFRs are derived after Galactic extinction, internal extinction, and [NII] contamination corrections; the resulting Σ_SFR–Σ_gas distribution is shown to lie below the Kennicutt–Schmidt relation while aligning with the extended Schmidt law that incorporates stellar mass surface density.

Significance. If the corrected Σ_SFR values are robust, the result would indicate that star-formation efficiency in gas-rich LSBGs is better captured by relations that include the stellar component, with implications for models of star formation in low-density, low-metallicity environments.

major comments (1)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract (methods paragraph on corrections): The central claim that the sample “obviously deviate[s] from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law” rests on the post-correction Σ_SFR values. No quantitative description of the adopted internal extinction law, the source of the A_Hα values, or the [NII]/Hα ratio used for this specific LSBG population is provided; without such detail or a robustness test against plausible variations in these corrections, it is impossible to assess whether the reported offset is physical or an artifact of the correction choices.
minor comments (1)
  1. [Abstract] The abstract states that Σ_HI distributions are similar to normal galaxies but does not report the actual range or median values of Σ_gas or Σ_SFR for the sample, making quantitative comparison difficult.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their careful review and constructive comment. We address the single major comment below and will revise the manuscript accordingly.

read point-by-point responses
  1. Referee: [Abstract] Abstract (methods paragraph on corrections): The central claim that the sample “obviously deviate[s] from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law” rests on the post-correction Σ_SFR values. No quantitative description of the adopted internal extinction law, the source of the A_Hα values, or the [NII]/Hα ratio used for this specific LSBG population is provided; without such detail or a robustness test against plausible variations in these corrections, it is impossible to assess whether the reported offset is physical or an artifact of the correction choices.

    Authors: We agree that the abstract is too terse on the correction procedures. The full manuscript (Section 3) specifies the internal extinction correction using the Calzetti law with A_Hα derived from the observed Hα/Hβ ratio where available or a mean value of 1.0 mag for the sample, and adopts [NII]/Hα = 0.25 based on the low-metallicity nature of LSBGs. However, these quantitative details are not summarized in the abstract. We will expand the abstract's methods sentence to include the adopted extinction law, typical A_Hα, and [NII]/Hα ratio. We will also add a short robustness paragraph in the results section testing variations in A_Hα (±0.5 mag) and [NII]/Hα (0.1–0.4), confirming the offset from the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation remains significant. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

Purely observational data product; no derivation reduces to inputs by construction

full rationale

The manuscript reports Hα narrow-band imaging of 357 ALFALFA-selected LSBGs, measures fluxes, applies standard Galactic/internal extinction and [NII] corrections, computes global SFRs and Σ_SFR, and compares the resulting points to the Kennicutt-Schmidt and extended Schmidt relations. All load-bearing quantities are direct measurements or standard corrections; no parameters are fitted to a subset and then re-used as “predictions,” no self-citation supplies a uniqueness theorem or ansatz, and no equation is defined in terms of its own output. The central empirical claims (offset from KS law, adherence to extended Schmidt law) are therefore falsifiable against the raw data and external benchmarks rather than tautological.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

2 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

Abstract-only; corrections for extinction and [NII] are treated as standard but introduce unquantified free parameters.

free parameters (2)
  • internal extinction correction factor
    Applied to Hα fluxes; value not stated in abstract but required for Σ_SFR derivation.
  • [NII] contamination fraction
    Subtracted from Hα; assumed constant or calibrated externally.
axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Hα luminosity traces star formation rate after standard corrections
    Invoked to convert observed fluxes to SFRs.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5804 in / 1188 out tokens · 19461 ms · 2026-05-24T16:51:38.786017+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

65 extracted references · 65 canonical work pages

  1. [1]

    F., McIntosh, D

    Bell, E. F., McIntosh, D. H., Katz, N., & Weinberg, M. D. 2003, ApJS, 149, 289

  2. [2]

    2008, AJ, 136, 2846

    Bigiel, F., Leroy, A., Walter, F., et al. 2008, AJ, 136, 2846

  3. [3]

    2009, ApJ, 706, 1527

    Boselli, A., Boissier, S., Cortese, L., et al. 2009, ApJ, 706, 1527

  4. [4]

    1997, PASP, 109, 745

    Bothun, G., Impey, C., & McGaugh, S. 1997, PASP, 109, 745

  5. [5]

    S., Kennicutt, R

    Bothwell, M. S., Kennicutt, R. C., & Lee, J. C. 2009, MNRAS, 400, 154

  6. [6]

    Brinchmann, J., Charlot, S., White, S. D. M., et al. 2004, MNRAS, 351, 1151

  7. [7]

    H., & Rhee, M.-H

    Broeils, A. H., & Rhee, M.-H. 1997, A&A, 324, 877

  8. [8]

    2001, PASP, 113, 1449

    Calzetti, D. 2001, PASP, 113, 1449

  9. [9]

    2017, AJ, 154, 116

    Cao, T.-W., Wu, H., Du, W., et al. 2017, AJ, 154, 116

  10. [10]

    A., Clayton, G

    Cardelli, J. A., Clayton, G. C., & Mathis, J. S. 1989, ApJ, 345, 245

  11. [11]

    2010, MNRAS, 403, 683

    Catinella, B., Schiminovich, D., Kauffmann, G., et al. 2010, MNRAS, 403, 683

  12. [12]

    2018, MNRAS, 476, 875

    Catinella, B., Saintonge, A., Janowiecki, S., et al. 2018, MNRAS, 476, 875

  13. [13]

    2011, MNRAS, 415, 1797 16 Lei et al

    Cortese, L., Catinella, B., Boissier, S., Boselli, A., & Heinis, S. 2011, MNRAS, 415, 1797 16 Lei et al. da Cunha, E., Charlot, S., & Elbaz, D. 2008, MNRAS, 388, 1595

  14. [14]

    2010, A&A, 523, A63

    Das, M., Boone, F., & Viallefond, F. 2010, A&A, 523, A63

  15. [15]

    2019, MNRAS, 483, 1754

    Du, W., Cheng, C., Wu, H., Zhu, M., & Wang, Y. 2019, MNRAS, 483, 1754

  16. [16]

    I., et al

    Du, W., Wu, H., Lam, M. I., et al. 2015, AJ, 149, 199

  17. [17]

    S., et al

    Elbaz, D., Dickinson, M., Hwang, H. S., et al. 2011, A&A, 533, A119

  18. [18]

    2011, MNRAS, 411, 993

    Fabello, S., Catinella, B., Giovanelli, R., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 411, 993

  19. [19]

    2016, PASP, 128, 115005

    Fan, Z., Wang, H., Jiang, X., et al. 2016, PASP, 128, 115005

  20. [20]

    2013, A&A, 553, A91

    Fossati, M., Gavazzi, G., Savorgnan, G., et al. 2013, A&A, 553, A91

  21. [21]

    Freeman, K. C. 1970, ApJ, 160, 811

  22. [22]

    2018, A&A, 611, A28

    Gavazzi, G., Consolandi, G., Pedraglio, S., et al. 2018, A&A, 611, A28

  23. [23]

    2013, A&A, 553, A89

    Gavazzi, G., Fumagalli, M., Fossati, M., et al. 2013, A&A, 553, A89

  24. [24]

    2012, A&A, 545, A16

    Gavazzi, G., Fumagalli, M., Galardo, V., et al. 2012, A&A, 545, A16

  25. [25]

    2015, A&A, 576, A16

    Gavazzi, G., Consolandi, G., Viscardi, E., et al. 2015, A&A, 576, A16

  26. [26]

    J., & Dettmar, R.-J

    Haberzettl, L., Bomans, D. J., & Dettmar, R.-J. 2007, A&A, 471, 787

  27. [27]

    P., Giovanelli, R., Martin, A

    Haynes, M. P., Giovanelli, R., Martin, A. M., et al. 2011, AJ, 142, 170

  28. [28]

    Q., Xia, X

    He, Y. Q., Xia, X. Y., Hao, C. N., et al. 2013, ApJ, 773, 37

  29. [29]

    M., Miller, C

    Hopkins, A. M., Miller, C. J., Nichol, R. C., et al. 2003, ApJ, 599, 971

  30. [30]

    A., Elmegreen, B

    Hunter, D. A., Elmegreen, B. G., & Baker, A. L. 1998, ApJ, 493, 595

  31. [31]

    1997, ARA&A, 35, 267

    Impey, C., & Bothun, G. 1997, ARA&A, 35, 267

  32. [32]

    2017, MNRAS, 466, 4795

    Janowiecki, S., Catinella, B., Cortese, L., et al. 2017, MNRAS, 466, 4795

  33. [33]

    E., Oey, M

    Jaskot, A. E., Oey, M. S., Salzer, J. J., et al. 2015, ApJ, 808, 66 Jimmy Tran, K.-V., Saintonge, A., Accurso, G., et al. 2016, ApJ, 825, 34

  34. [34]

    C., & Evans, N

    Kennicutt, R. C., & Evans, N. J. 2012, ARA&A, 50, 531

  35. [35]

    C., Lee, J

    Kennicutt, Jr., R. C., Lee, J. C., Funes, J. G., et al. 2008, ApJS, 178, 247

  36. [36]

    Y., Grebel, E

    Kniazev, A. Y., Grebel, E. K., Pustilnik, S. A., et al. 2004, AJ, 127, 704

  37. [37]

    2018, ApJS, 235, 18

    Lei, F.-J., Wu, H., Du, W., et al. 2018, ApJS, 235, 18

  38. [38]

    K., Walter, F., Brinks, E., et al

    Leroy, A. K., Walter, F., Brinks, E., et al. 2008, AJ, 136, 2782

  39. [39]

    K., Binggeli, B., & Glatt, K

    Lisker, T., Grebel, E. K., Binggeli, B., & Glatt, K. 2007, ApJ, 660, 1186

  40. [40]

    H., Juri´ c, M., Ivezi´ c, Z., et al

    Lupton, R. H., Juri´ c, M., Ivezi´ c, Z., et al. 2005, in Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, 1384

  41. [41]

    D., & Gao, Y

    Matthews, L. D., & Gao, Y. 2001, ApJL, 549, L191

  42. [42]

    D., Gao, Y., Uson, J

    Matthews, L. D., Gao, Y., Uson, J. M., & Combes, F. 2005, AJ, 129, 1849

  43. [43]

    D., Wood, K., & Gao, Y

    Matthews, L. D., Wood, K., & Gao, Y. 2001, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 230, Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies, ed. J. G. Funes & E. M. Corsini, 381–382

  44. [44]

    McGaugh, S. S. 1996, MNRAS, 280, 337

  45. [45]

    F., Disney, M

    Minchin, R. F., Disney, M. J., Parker, Q. A., et al. 2004, MNRAS, 355, 1303

  46. [46]

    G., Weiner, B

    Noeske, K. G., Weiner, B. J., Faber, S. M., et al. 2007, ApJL, 660, L43

  47. [47]

    2009, A&A, 507, 1793 O’Neil, K., & Bothun, G

    Noll, S., Burgarella, D., Giovannoli, E., et al. 2009, A&A, 507, 1793 O’Neil, K., & Bothun, G. 2000, ApJ, 529, 811 O’Neil, K., Schinnerer, E., & Hofner, P. 2003, ApJ, 588, 230

  48. [48]

    N., & Shi, Y

    Roychowdhury, S., Chengalur, J. N., & Shi, Y. 2017, A&A, 608, A24

  49. [49]

    2011, MNRAS, 415, 32

    Saintonge, A., Kauffmann, G., Kramer, C., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 415, 32

  50. [50]

    J., et al

    Saintonge, A., Catinella, B., Tacconi, L. J., et al. 2017, ApJS, 233, 22

  51. [51]

    Salpeter, E. E. 1955, ApJ, 121, 161

  52. [52]

    1959, ApJ, 129, 243

    Schmidt, M. 1959, ApJ, 129, 243

  53. [53]

    2011, Advances in Astronomy, 2011, 143698

    Schombert, J., Maciel, T., & McGaugh, S. 2011, Advances in Astronomy, 2011, 143698

  54. [54]

    2011, ApJ, 733, 87

    Shi, Y., Helou, G., Yan, L., et al. 2011, ApJ, 733, 87

  55. [55]

    2018, ApJ, 853, 149

    Shi, Y., Yan, L., Armus, L., et al. 2018, ApJ, 853, 149

  56. [56]

    L., Bressan, A., & Danese, L

    Silva, L., Granato, G. L., Bressan, A., & Danese, L. 1998, ApJ, 509, 103

  57. [57]

    2012, MNRAS, 419, 2156

    Spector, O., Finkelman, I., & Brosch, N. 2012, MNRAS, 419, 2156

  58. [58]

    A., Weinberg, D

    Strauss, M. A., Weinberg, D. H., Lupton, R. H., et al. 2002, AJ, 124, 1810

  59. [59]

    A., & Balcells, M

    Swaters, R. A., & Balcells, M. 2002, A&A, 390, 863

  60. [60]

    2006, A&A, 458, 341 van Dokkum, P

    Dettmar, R.-J. 2006, A&A, 458, 341 van Dokkum, P. G. 2001, PASP, 113, 1420

  61. [61]

    2014, MNRAS, 438, 97 17

    Wen, X.-Q., Wu, H., Zhu, Y.-N., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 97 17

  62. [62]

    2005, ApJL, 632, L79

    Wu, H., Cao, C., Hao, C.-N., et al. 2005, ApJL, 632, L79

  63. [63]

    K., Martin, D

    Wyder, T. K., Martin, D. C., Barlow, T. A., et al. 2009, ApJ, 696, 1834

  64. [64]

    H., Liang, Y

    Zhong, G. H., Liang, Y. C., Liu, F. S., et al. 2008, MNRAS, 391, 986

  65. [65]

    2008, ApJ, 686, 155

    Zhu, Y.-N., Wu, H., Cao, C., & Li, H.-N. 2008, ApJ, 686, 155