Drivers of the bending of the star-formation main sequence

Ascertain the physical mechanisms that drive the observed bending of the star-formation main sequence, both in integrated and spatially resolved forms, particularly at high stellar mass or stellar-mass surface density in disc galaxies.

Background

The star-formation main sequence (linking stellar mass and star-formation rate) exhibits a bending at high mass in both integrated and spatially resolved analyses. This feature is often attributed to bulge growth or central processes, but definitive causation is unsettled.

In this paper, the spatially resolved analysis of six barred galaxies reveals an anti-correlation track within bar-hosting regions, suggesting that bars may contribute to inside-out quenching and potentially to the observed bending. However, the authors explicitly state that the exact mechanisms responsible for the bending remain unknown.