scholarly journals G.A.S.

2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A131 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cousin ◽  
P. Guillard ◽  
M. D. Lehnert
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Turbulent Energy ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Radiative Cooling ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Good Agreement

Context. Star formation in galaxies is inefficient, and understanding how star formation is regulated in galaxies is one of the most fundamental challenges of contemporary astrophysics. Radiative cooling, feedback from supernovae and active galactic nuclei (AGN), and large-scale dynamics and dissipation of turbulent energy act over various time and spatial scales and all regulate star formation in a complex gas cycle. Aims. This paper presents the physics implemented in a new semi-analytical model of galaxy formation and evolution called the Galaxy Assembler from dark-matter Simulation (G.A.S.). Methods. The fundamental underpinning of our new model is the development of a multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) in which energy produced by supernovae and AGN maintains an equilibrium between a diffuse, hot, and stable gas and a cooler, clumpy, and low-volume filling factor gas. The hot gas is susceptible to thermal and dynamical instabilities. We include a description of how turbulence leads to the formation of giant molecular clouds through an inertial turbulent energy cascade, assuming a constant kinetic energy transfer per unit volume. We explicitly modelled the evolution of the velocity dispersion at different scales of the cascade and accounted for thermal instabilities in the hot halo gas. Thermal instabilities effectively reduce the impact of radiative cooling and moderates accretion rates onto galaxies, and in particular, for those residing in massive haloes. Results. We show that rapid and multiple exchanges between diffuse and unstable gas phases strongly regulates star formation rates in galaxies because only a small fraction of the unstable gas is forming stars. We checked that the characteristic timescales describing the gas cycle, gas depletion timescale, and star-forming laws at different scales are in good agreement with observations. For high-mass haloes and galaxies, cooling is naturally regulated by the growth of thermal instabilities, so we do not need to implement strong AGN feedback in this model. Our results are also in good agreement with the observed stellar mass function from z ≃ 6.0 to z ≃ 0.5. Conclusion. Our model offers the flexibility to test the impact of various physical processes on the regulation of star formation on a representative population of galaxies across cosmic times. Thermal instabilities and the cascade of turbulent energy in the dense gas phase introduce a delay between gas accretion and star formation, which keeps galaxy growth inefficient in the early Universe. The main results presented in this paper, such as stellar mass functions, are available in the GALAKSIENN library.

scholarly journals The impact of stellar feedback on high-z galaxy populations

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S319) ◽  
pp. 26-26
Author(s):  
Michaela Hirschmann ◽  
Gabriella De Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Chemical Enrichment ◽  
Stellar Feedback ◽  
Feedback Scheme ◽  
Galaxy Populations ◽  
Improved Model ◽  
The Impact

AbstractOne major deficiency of state-of-the-art galaxy formation models consists in their inability of capturing the observed galaxy downsizing trend significantly over-estimating the number density of low-mass galaxies, in particular at high redshifts. Employing an enhanced galaxy formation model with a full chemical enrichment scheme (DeLucia et al., 2014), we present an improved model for stellar feedback (based on parametrizations from cosmological zoom simulations), in which strong gas outflows occur due to bursty star formation at high z, while star formation is mainly “quiescent” not causing any significant outflows anymore at low z. Due to the stronger gas outflows at high z, early star formation is strongly delayed towards later times. This helps to sufficiently detach the evolution of galaxy growth from the hiearchical dark matter assembly resulting in a fairly good agreement with the evolution of the observed stellar mass function (SMF, see Fig. 1). With our new feedback scheme, we can also successfully reproduce many other observational constraints, such as the metallicity content, the cold gas fractions or the quiescent galaxy fractions at both low and high redshifts. The resulting new-generation galaxy catalogues (Hirschmann et al., in prep) based on that model are expected to significantly contribute to the interpretation of current and up-coming large-scale surveys (HST, JWST, Euclid). This will, in turn, provide a rapid verification and refinement of our modeling.

scholarly journals The headlight cloud in NGC 628: An extreme giant molecular cloud in a typical galaxy disk

2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinthya N. Herrera ◽  
Jérôme Pety ◽  
Annie Hughes ◽  
Sharon E. Meidt ◽  
Kathryn Kreckel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Molecular Cloud ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Giant Molecular Cloud ◽  
The Impact

Context. Cloud-scale surveys of molecular gas reveal the link between giant molecular cloud properties and star formation across a range of galactic environments. Cloud populations in galaxy disks are considered to be representative of the normal star formation process, while galaxy centers tend to harbor denser gas that exhibits more extreme star formation. At high resolution, however, molecular clouds with exceptional gas properties and star formation activity may also be observed in normal disk environments. In this paper we study the brightest cloud traced in CO(2–1) emission in the disk of nearby spiral galaxy NGC 628. Aims. We characterize the properties of the molecular and ionized gas that is spatially coincident with an extremely bright H II region in the context of the NGC 628 galactic environment. We investigate how feedback and large-scale processes influence the properties of the molecular gas in this region. Methods. High-resolution ALMA observations of CO(2–1) and CO(1−0) emission were used to characterize the mass and dynamical state of the “headlight” molecular cloud. The characteristics of this cloud are compared to the typical properties of molecular clouds in NGC 628. A simple large velocity gradient (LVG) analysis incorporating additional ALMA observations of 13CO(1−0), HCO+(1−0), and HCN(1−0) emission was used to constrain the beam-diluted density and temperature of the molecular gas. We analyzed the MUSE spectrum using Starburst99 to characterize the young stellar population associated with the H II region. Results. The unusually bright headlight cloud is massive (1 − 2 × 107 M⊙), with a beam-diluted density of nH2 = 5 × 104 cm−3 based on LVG modeling. It has a low virial parameter, suggesting that the CO emission associated with this cloud may be overluminous due to heating by the H II region. A young (2 − 4 Myr) stellar population with mass 3 × 105 M⊙ is associated. Conclusions. We argue that the headlight cloud is currently being destroyed by feedback from young massive stars. Due to the large mass of the cloud, this phase of the its evolution is long enough for the impact of feedback on the excitation of the gas to be observed. The high mass of the headlight cloud may be related to its location at a spiral co-rotation radius, where gas experiences reduced galactic shear compared to other regions of the disk and receives a sustained inflow of gas that can promote the mass growth of the cloud.

scholarly journals Clues to the nature of dark matter from first galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (1) ◽  
pp. 487-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boyan K Stoychev ◽  
Keri L Dixon ◽  
Andrea V Macciò ◽  
Marvin Blank ◽  
Aaron A Dutton
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT We use 38 high-resolution simulations of galaxy formation between redshift 10 and 5 to study the impact of a 3 keV warm dark matter (WDM) candidate on the high-redshift Universe. We focus our attention on the stellar mass function and the global star formation rate and consider the consequences for reionization, namely the neutral hydrogen fraction evolution and the electron scattering optical depth. We find that three different effects contribute to differentiate warm and cold dark matter (CDM) predictions: WDM suppresses the number of haloes with mass less than few 109 M⊙; at a fixed halo mass, WDM produces fewer stars than CDM, and finally at halo masses below 109 M⊙, WDM has a larger fraction of dark haloes than CDM post-reionization. These three effects combine to produce a lower stellar mass function in WDM for galaxies with stellar masses at and below 107 M⊙. For z > 7, the global star formation density is lower by a factor of two in the WDM scenario, and for a fixed escape fraction, the fraction of neutral hydrogen is higher by 0.3 at z ∼ 6. This latter quantity can be partially reconciled with CDM and observations only by increasing the escape fraction from 23 per cent to 34 per cent. Overall, our study shows that galaxy formation simulations at high redshift are a key tool to differentiate between dark matter candidates given a model for baryonic physics.

scholarly journals Supermassive black holes in cosmological simulations I: MBH − M⋆ relation and black hole mass function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Habouzit ◽  
Yuan Li ◽  
Rachel S Somerville ◽  
Shy Genel ◽  
Annalisa Pillepich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Time Evolution ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Cosmological Simulations ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The past decade has seen significant progress in understanding galaxy formation and evolution using large-scale cosmological simulations. While these simulations produce galaxies in overall good agreement with observations, they employ different sub-grid models for galaxies and supermassive black holes (BHs). We investigate the impact of the sub-grid models on the BH mass properties of the Illustris, TNG100, TNG300, Horizon-AGN, EAGLE, and SIMBA simulations, focusing on the MBH − M⋆ relation and the BH mass function. All simulations predict tight MBH − M⋆ relations, and struggle to produce BHs of $M_{\rm BH}\leqslant 10^{7.5}\, \rm M_{\odot }$ in galaxies of $M_{\star }\sim 10^{10.5}-10^{11.5}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. While the time evolution of the mean MBH − M⋆ relation is mild ($\rm \Delta M_{\rm BH}\leqslant 1\, dex$ for 0 ≤ z ≤ 5) for all the simulations, its linearity (shape) and normalization varies from simulation to simulation. The strength of SN feedback has a large impact on the linearity and time evolution for $M_{\star }\leqslant 10^{10.5}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. We find that the low-mass end is a good discriminant of the simulation models, and highlights the need for new observational constraints. At the high-mass end, strong AGN feedback can suppress the time evolution of the relation normalization. Compared with observations of the local Universe, we find an excess of BHs with $M_{\rm BH}\geqslant 10^{9}\, \rm M_{\odot }$ in most of the simulations. The BH mass function is dominated by efficiently accreting BHs (log10 fEdd ≥ −2) at high redshifts, and transitions progressively from the high-mass to the low-mass end to be governed by inactive BHs. The transition time and the contribution of active BHs are different among the simulations, and can be used to evaluate models against observations.

scholarly journals Intense starbursts at z~5: first significant stellar mass assembly in the progenitors of present-day spheroids

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S245) ◽  
pp. 471-476
Author(s):  
Aprajita Verma ◽  
Matthew Lehnert ◽  
Natascha Förster Schreiber ◽  
Malcolm Bremer ◽  
Laura Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Mass Density ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Mass Assembly

AbstractHigh redshift galaxies play a key role in our developing understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. Since such galaxies are being studied within a Gyr of the big bang, they provide a unique probe of the physics of one of the first generations of large-scale star-formation. We have performed a complete statistical study of the physical properties of a robust sample of z~5 UV luminous galaxies selected using the Lyman-break technique. The characteristic properties of this sample differ from LBGs at z~3 of comparable luminosity in that they are a factor of ten less massive (~few×109 M⊙) and the majority (~70%) are considerably younger (<100Myr). Our results support no more than a modest decline in the global star formation rate density at high redshifts and suggest that ~1% of the stellar mass density of the universe had already assembled at z~5. The constraint derived for the latter is affected by their young ages and short duty cycles which imply existing z~5 LBG samples may be highly incomplete. These intense starbursts have high unobscured star formation rate surface densities (~100s M⊙ yr−1 kpc−2), suggesting they drive outflows and winds that enrich the intra- and inter-galactic media with metals. These properties imply that the majority of z~5 LBGs are in formation meaning that most of their star-formation has likely occurred during the last few crossing times. They are experiencing their first (few) generations of large-scale star formation and are accumulating their first significant stellar mass. As such, z~5 LBGs are the likely progenitors of the spheroidal components of present-day massive galaxies (supported by their high stellar mass surface densities and their core phase-space densities).

scholarly journals MASS DISTRIBUTION OF DARK MATTER HALO AND SCALE EVOLUTION OF EARLY TYPE GALAXIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (334) ◽  
pp. 91-98
Author(s):  
D. Kairatkyzy ◽  
◽  
H. C. Quevedo ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Dark Matter Halo ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Mass Relation ◽  
Early Type ◽  
Survival Fraction

In this paper we use two suites of ultra-high resolution N-body simulations Phoenix and Aquarius Projects to study the assembly history of sub-halos and its dependence on host halo mass. We found that more massive haloes have more progenitors, which is in contrast with former works because they counted dynamical progenitors repeatedly. Less massive halos have larger fraction of dynamical progenitors than more massive ones. The typical accretion time depends strongly on host halo mass. Progenitors of galactic halos are accreted at higher redshift than that of cluster halos. Once these progenitors orbit their primary systems, they rapidly lose their original mass but not their identifiers. Most of the progenitors are able to survive to present day. At given redshift, the survival fraction of accreted sub-halos is independent of host halo mass, while sub-halos in high mass halos lost more mass. In the second part, we use a semi-analytical galaxy formation model compiled on a Millennium Simulation to study the size evolution of massive early-type galaxies from redshift z = 2 to present days. We find that the model we used is able to well reproduce the amplitude and slope of size-mass relation, as well as its evolution. The amplitude of this relation reflects the typical compactness of dark matter halos at the time when most stars are formed. This link between size and star formation epoch is propagated in through galaxy combinations. Minor combinations are increasingly important with increasing present day stellar mass for galaxies more massive than 1011.4M⊙. At lower masses, major combinations are more important. In situ star formation contributes more to the size growth than it does to stellar mass growth. Similar to former works, we find that minor combinations dominate the subsequent growth both in stellar mass and in size for early formed early-type galaxies.

scholarly journals GASTON: Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2. Evidence for the mass growth of star-forming clumps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Rigby ◽  
N Peretto ◽  
R Adam ◽  
P Ade ◽  
M Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Mass Growth ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Compact Source

Abstract Determining the mechanism by which high-mass stars are formed is essential for our understanding of the energy budget and chemical evolution of galaxies. By using the New IRAM KIDs Array 2 (NIKA2) camera on the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope, we have conducted high-sensitivity and large-scale mapping of a fraction of the Galactic plane in order to search for signatures of the transition between the high- and low-mass star-forming modes. Here, we present the first results from the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON) project, a Large Programme at the IRAM 30-m telescope which is mapping ≈2 deg2 of the inner Galactic plane (GP), centred on ℓ = 23${_{.}^{\circ}}$9, b = 0${_{.}^{\circ}}$05, as well as targets in Taurus and Ophiuchus in 1.15 and 2.00 mm continuum wavebands. In this paper we present the first of the GASTON GP data taken, and present initial science results. We conduct an extraction of structures from the 1.15 mm maps using a dendrogram analysis and, by comparison to the compact source catalogues from Herschel survey data, we identify a population of 321 previously-undetected clumps. Approximately 80 per cent of these new clumps are 70 μm-quiet, and may be considered as starless candidates. We find that this new population of clumps are less massive and cooler, on average, than clumps that have already been identified. Further, by classifying the full sample of clumps based upon their infrared-bright fraction – an indicator of evolutionary stage – we find evidence for clump mass growth, supporting models of clump-fed high-mass star formation.

scholarly journals The role of mergers and interactions in driving the evolution of dwarf galaxies over cosmic time

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (4) ◽  
pp. 4937-4957 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Martin ◽  
R A Jackson ◽  
S Kaviraj ◽  
H Choi ◽  
J E G Devriendt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Dwarf Galaxies ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Mass Assembly

ABSTRACT Dwarf galaxies (M⋆ &lt; 109 M⊙) are key drivers of mass assembly in high-mass galaxies, but relatively little is understood about the assembly of dwarf galaxies themselves. Using the NewHorizon cosmological simulation (∼40 pc spatial resolution), we investigate how mergers and fly-bys drive the mass assembly and structural evolution of around 1000 field and group dwarfs up to z = 0.5. We find that, while dwarf galaxies often exhibit disturbed morphologies (5 and 20 per cent are disturbed at z = 1 and z = 3 respectively), only a small proportion of the morphological disturbances seen in dwarf galaxies are driven by mergers at any redshift (for 109 M⊙, mergers drive under 20 per cent morphological disturbances). They are instead primarily the result of interactions that do not end in a merger (e.g. fly-bys). Given the large fraction of apparently morphologically disturbed dwarf galaxies which are not, in fact, merging, this finding is particularly important to future studies identifying dwarf mergers and post-mergers morphologically at intermediate and high redshifts. Dwarfs typically undergo one major and one minor merger between z = 5 and z = 0.5, accounting for 10 per cent of their total stellar mass. Mergers can also drive moderate star formation enhancements at lower redshifts (3 or 4 times at z = 1), but this accounts for only a few per cent of stellar mass in the dwarf regime given their infrequency. Non-merger interactions drive significantly smaller star formation enhancements (around two times), but their preponderance relative to mergers means they account for around 10 per cent of stellar mass formed in the dwarf regime.

scholarly journals How robustly can we constrain the low-mass end of the z ∼ 6−7 stellar mass function? The limits of lensing models and stellar population assumptions in the Hubble Frontier Fields

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 1568-1590
Author(s):  
Lukas J Furtak ◽  
Hakim Atek ◽  
Matthew D Lehnert ◽  
Jacopo Chevallard ◽  
Stéphane Charlot
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Stellar Masses ◽  
Dust Attenuation ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT We present new measurements of the very low mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) at z ∼ 6−7 computed from a rest-frame ultraviolet selected sample of dropout galaxies. These galaxies lie behind the six Hubble Frontier Field clusters and are all gravitationally magnified. Using deep Spitzer/IRAC and Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we derive stellar masses by fitting galaxy spectral energy distributions and explore the impact of different model assumptions and parameter degeneracies on the resulting GSMF. Our sample probes stellar masses down to $M_{\star }\gt 10^{6}\, \text{M}_{\odot}$ and we find the z ∼ 6−7 GSMF to be best parametrized by a modified Schechter function that allows for a turnover at very low masses. Using a Monte Carlo Markov chain analysis of the GSMF, including accurate treatment of lensing uncertainties, we obtain a relatively steep low-mass end slope $\alpha \simeq -1.96_{-0.08}^{+0.09}$ and a turnover at $\log (M_T/\text{M}_{\odot})\simeq 7.10_{-0.56}^{+0.17}$ with a curvature of $\beta \simeq 1.00_{-0.73}^{+0.87}$ for our minimum assumption model with constant star formation history (SFH) and low dust attenuation, AV ≤ 0.2. We find that the z ∼ 6−7 GSMF, in particular its very low mass end, is significantly affected by the assumed functional form of the star formation history and the degeneracy between stellar mass and dust attenuation. For example, the low-mass end slope ranges from $\alpha \simeq -1.82_{-0.07}^{+0.08}$ for an exponentially rising SFH to $\alpha \simeq -2.34_{-0.10}^{+0.11}$ when allowing AV of up to 3.25. Future observations at longer wavelengths and higher angular resolution with the James Webb Space Telescope are required to break these degeneracies and to robustly constrain the stellar mass of galaxies on the extreme low-mass end of the GSMF.

scholarly journals EDGE: a new approach to suppressing numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh simulations of galaxy formation

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 1755-1765
Author(s):  
Andrew Pontzen ◽  
Martin P Rey ◽  
Corentin Cadiou ◽  
Oscar Agertz ◽  
Romain Teyssier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Adaptive Mesh Refinement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Adaptive Mesh ◽  
Numerical Diffusion

ABSTRACT We introduce a new method to mitigate numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) simulations of cosmological galaxy formation, and study its impact on a simulated dwarf galaxy as part of the ‘EDGE’ project. The target galaxy has a maximum circular velocity of $21\, \mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}$ but evolves in a region that is moving at up to $90\, \mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}$ relative to the hydrodynamic grid. In the absence of any mitigation, diffusion softens the filaments feeding our galaxy. As a result, gas is unphysically held in the circumgalactic medium around the galaxy for $320\, \mathrm{Myr}$, delaying the onset of star formation until cooling and collapse eventually triggers an initial starburst at z = 9. Using genetic modification, we produce ‘velocity-zeroed’ initial conditions in which the grid-relative streaming is strongly suppressed; by design, the change does not significantly modify the large-scale structure or dark matter accretion history. The resulting simulation recovers a more physical, gradual onset of star formation starting at z = 17. While the final stellar masses are nearly consistent ($4.8 \times 10^6\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ and $4.4\times 10^6\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ for unmodified and velocity-zeroed, respectively), the dynamical and morphological structure of the z = 0 dwarf galaxies are markedly different due to the contrasting histories. Our approach to diffusion suppression is suitable for any AMR zoom cosmological galaxy formation simulations, and is especially recommended for those of small galaxies at high redshift.

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