Search

The reservoir of molecular gas (H$_{\rm 2}$) represents the fuel for the star formation (SF) of a galaxy. Connecting the star formation rate (SFR) to the available H$_{\rm 2}$ is key to accurately model SF in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. We investigate how modifying the underlying modelling of H$_{\rm 2}$ and the description of stellar feedback in low-metallicity environments (LMF, i.e. low-metallicity stellar feedback) in cosmological, zoomed-in simulations of a Milky Way-size halo influences the formation history of the forming, spiral galaxy and its final properties. We exploit two different models to compute the molecular fraction of cold gas (f$_{\rm H_{\rm 2}}$): $i)$ the theoretical model by Krumholz et al. (2009b) and $ii)$ the phenomenological prescription by Blitz & Rosolowsky (2006). We find that the model adopted to estimate f$_{\rm H_{\rm 2}}$ plays a key role in determining final properties and in shaping the morphology of the galaxy. The clumpier interstellar medium (ISM) and the more complex H$_{\rm 2}$ distribution that the Krumholz et al. (2009b) model predicts result in better agreement with observations of nearby disc galaxies. This shows how crucial it is to link the SFR to the physical properties of the star-forming, molecular ISM. The additional source of energy that LMF supplies in a metal-poor ISM is key in controlling SF at high redshift and in regulating the reservoir of SF across cosmic time. Not only is LMF able to regulate cooling properties of the ISM, but it also reduces the stellar mass of the galaxy bulge. These findings can foster the improvement of the numerical modelling of SF in cosmological simulations., accepted for publication in MNRAS

Simulations of idealized star-forming filaments of finite length typically show core growth that is dominated by two cores forming at its respective end. The end cores form due to a strong increasing acceleration at the filament ends that leads to a sweep-up of material during the filament collapse along its axis. As this growth mode is typically faster than any other core formation mode in a filament, the end cores usually dominate in mass and density compared to other cores forming inside a filament. However, observations of star-forming filaments do not show this prevalence of cores at the filament ends. We explore a possible mechanism to slow the growth of the end cores using numerical simulations of simultaneous filament and embedded core formation, in our case a radially accreting filament forming in a finite converging flow. While such a set-up still leads to end cores, they soon begin to move inwards and a density gradient is formed outside of the cores by the continued accumulation of material. As a result, the outermost cores are no longer located at the exact ends of the filament and the density gradient softens the inward gravitational acceleration of the cores. Therefore, the two end cores do not grow as fast as expected and thus do not dominate over other core formation modes in the filament.

Previous studies have shown that dark matter deficient galaxies (DMDG) such as NGC1052-DF2 (hereafter DF2) can result from tidal stripping. An important question, though, is whether such a stripping scenario can explain DF2's large specific frequency of globular clusters (GCs). After all, tidal stripping and shocking preferentially remove matter from the outskirts. We examine this using idealized, high-resolution simulations of a regular dark matter dominated galaxy that is accreted onto a massive halo. As long as the initial (pre-infall) dark matter halo of the satellite is cored, which is consistent with predictions of cosmological, hydrodynamical simulations, the tidal remnant can be made to resemble DF2 in all its properties, including its GC population. The required orbit has a peri-centre at the 8.3 percentile of the distribution for subhaloes at infall, and thus is not particularly extreme. On this orbit the satellite loses 98.5 (30) percent of its original dark matter (stellar) mass, and thus evolves into a DMDG. The fraction of GCs that is stripped off depends on the initial radial distribution. If, at infall, the median projected radius of the GC population is roughly two times that of the stars, consistent with observations of isolated galaxies, only $\sim 20$ percent of the GCs are stripped off. This is less than for the stars, which is due to dynamical friction counteracting the tidal stirring. We predict that, if indeed DF2 was crafted by strong tides, its stellar outskirts should have a very shallow metallicity gradient., 15 pages, 10 figures and 2 appendices, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Observed rotation curves in star-forming galaxies indicate a puzzling dearth of dark matter in extended flat cores within haloes of mass $\geq\! 10^{12}M_\odot$ at $z\!\sim\! 2$. This is not reproduced by current cosmological simulations, and supernova-driven outflows are not effective in such massive haloes. We address a hybrid scenario where post-compaction merging satellites heat up the dark-matter cusps by dynamical friction, allowing AGN-driven outflows to generate cores. Using analytic and semi-analytic models (SatGen), we estimate the dynamical-friction heating as a function of satellite compactness for a cosmological sequence of mergers. Cosmological simulations (VELA) demonstrate that satellites of initial virial masses $>\!10^{11.3}M_\odot$, that undergo wet compactions, become sufficiently compact for significant heating. Constituting a major fraction of the accretion onto haloes $\geq\!10^{12}M_\odot$, these satellites heat-up the cusps in half a virial time at $z\!\sim\! 2$. Using a model for outflow-driven core formation (CuspCore), we demonstrate that the heated dark-matter cusps develop extended cores in response to removal of half the gas mass, while the more compact stellar systems remain intact. The mergers keep the dark matter hot, while the gas supply, fresh and recycled, is sufficient for the AGN outflows. AGN indeed become effective in haloes $\geq\!10^{12}M_\odot$, where the black-hole growth is no longer suppressed by supernovae and its compaction-driven rapid growth is maintained by a hot CGM. For simulations to reproduce the dynamical-friction effects, they should resolve the compaction of the massive satellites and avoid artificial tidal disruption. AGN feedback could be boosted by clumpy black-hole accretion and clumpy response to AGN., 25+10 pages, 10+8 figures

Post-starburst galaxies (PSBs) belong to a short-lived transition population between star-forming (SF) and quiescent galaxies. Deciphering their heavily discussed evolutionary pathways is paramount to understanding galaxy evolution. We aim to determine the dominant mechanisms governing PSB evolution in both the field and in galaxy clusters. Using the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation suite Magneticum Pathfinder, we identify 647 PSBs with $z \sim 0$ stellar mass $M_* \geq 5 \cdot 10^{10} \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$. We track their galactic evolution, merger history, and black hole activity over a time-span of 3.6Gyr. Additionally, we study cluster PSBs identified at different redshifts and cluster masses. Independent of environment and redshift, we find that PSBs, like SF galaxies, have frequent mergers. At z=0, 89% of PSBs have experienced mergers and 65% had at least one major merger within the last 2.5Gyr, leading to strong star formation episodes. In fact, 23% of z=0 PSBs were rejuvenated during their starburst. Following the mergers, field PSBs are generally shutdown via a strong increase in AGN feedback (power output $P_{AGN,PSB} \geq 10^{56}\,$erg/Myr). We find agreement with observations for both stellar mass functions and z = 0.9 line-of-sight phase space distributions of PSBs in galaxy clusters. Finally, we find that $z \lesssim 0.5$ cluster PSBs are predominantly infalling, especially in high mass clusters and show no signs of enhanced AGN activity. Thus, we conclude that the majority of cluster PSBs are shutdown via an environmental quenching mechanism such as ram-pressure stripping, while field PSBs are mainly quenched by AGN feedback., 28 pages, 15 figures, accepted by MNRAS

We present an empirical model for the number of globular clusters (GCs) in galaxies based on recent data showing a tight relationship between dark matter halo virial masses and GC numbers. While a simple base model forming GCs in low-mass haloes reproduces this relation, we show that a second formation pathway for GCs is needed to account for observed younger GC populations. We confirm previous works that reported the observed linear correlation as being a consequence of hierarchical merging and its insensitivity to the exact GC formation processes at higher virial masses, even for a dual formation scenario. We find that the scatter of the linear relation is strongly correlated with the relative amount of smooth accretion: the more dark matter is smoothly accreted, the fewer GCs a halo has compared to other haloes of the same mass. This scatter is smaller than that introduced by halo mass measurements, indicating that the number of GCs in a galaxy is a good tracer for its dark matter mass. Smooth accretion is also the reason for a lower average dark matter mass per GC in low-mass haloes. Finally, we successfully reproduce the observed general trend of GCs being old and the tendency of more massive haloes hosting older GC systems. Including the second GC formation mechanism through gas-rich mergers leads to a more realistic variety of GC age distributions and also introduces an age inversion in the halo virial mass range $\log M_\mathrm{vir}/\mathrm{M}_\odot = 11{-}13$., Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Leo T is a gas-rich dwarf located at 414kpc $(1.4R_{\rm vir})$ distance from the Milky Way (MW) and it is currently assumed to be on its first approach. Here, we present an analysis of orbits calculated backward in time for the dwarf with our new code {\sc delorean}, exploring a range of systematic uncertainties, e.g. MW virial mass and accretion, M31 potential, and cosmic expansion. We discover that orbits with tangential velocities in the Galactic Standard-of-Rest frame lower than $|\vec{u}_{\rm t}^{\rm GSR}|\!\leq\! 63^{+47}_{-39}{\rm\, km\, s^{-1}}$ result in backsplash solutions, i.e. orbits that entered and left the MW dark matter halo in the past, and that velocities above $|\vec{u}_{\rm t}^{\rm GSR}|\!\geq\!21^{+33}_{-21}{\rm\, km\, s^{-1}}$ result in wide orbit backsplash solutions with a minimum pericenter range of $D_{\rm min}\!\geq\!38^{+26}_{-16}{\rm \,kpc}$, which would allow this satellite to survive gas stripping and tidal disruption. Moreover, new proper motion estimates match with our region of backsplash solutions. We applied our method to other distant MW satellites, finding a range of gas stripped backsplash solutions for the gas-less Cetus and Eridanus II, providing a possible explanation for their lack of cold gas, while only first in-fall solutions are found for the HI rich Phoenix I. We also find that the cosmic expansion can delay their first pericenter passage when compared to the non-expanding scenario. This study explores the provenance of these distant dwarfs and provides constraints on the environmental and internal processes that shaped their evolution and current properties., Comment: 23 pages, ACCEPTED IN MNRAS

We investigate the build-up of the galactic dynamo and subsequently the origin of a magnetic driven outflow. We use a setup of an isolated disc galaxy with a realistic circum-galactic medium (CGM). We find good agreement of the galactic dynamo with theoretical and observational predictions from the radial and toroidal components of the magnetic field as function of radius and disc scale height. We find several field reversals indicating dipole structure at early times and quadrupole structure at late times. Together with the magnetic pitch angle and the dynamo control parameters $R_{\alpha}$, $R_{\omega}$ and $D$ we present strong evidence for an $\alpha^2$-$\Omega$ dynamo. The formation of a bar in the centre leads to further amplification of the magnetic field via adiabatic compression which subsequently drives an outflow. Due to the Parker-Instability the magnetic field lines rise to the edge of the disc, break out and expand freely in the CGM driven by the magnetic pressure. Finally, we investigate the correlation between magnetic field and star formation rate. Globally, we find that the magnetic field is increasing as function of the star formation rate surface density with a slope between $0.3$ and $0.45$ in good agreement with predictions from theory and observations. Locally, we find that the magnetic field can decrease while star formation increases. We find that this effect is correlated with the diffusion of magnetic field from the spiral arms to the inter-arm regions which we explicitly include by solving the induction equation and accounting for non-linear terms., Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We investigate the stellar kinematics of a sample of galaxies extracted from the hydrodynamic cosmological Magneticum Pathfinder simulations out to five half-mass radii. We construct differential radial stellar spin profiles quantified by the observationally widely used λ and the closely related (V/σ) parameters. We find three characteristic profile shapes: profiles exhibiting a (i) peak within 2.5 half-mass radii and a subsequent decrease; (ii) continuous increase that plateaus at larger radii typically with a high amplitude; (iii) completely flat behaviour typically with low amplitude, in agreement with observations. This shows that the kinematic state of the stellar component can vary significantly with radius, suggesting a distinct interplay between in-situ star formation and ex-situ accretion of stars. Following the evolution of our sample through time, we provide evidence that the accretion history of galaxies with decreasing profiles is dominated by the anisotropic accretion of low-mass satellites that get disrupted beyond ∼2.0 half-mass radii, building up a stellar halo with non-ordered motion while maintaining the central rotation already present at z = 2. In fact, at z = 2 decreasing profiles are the predominant profile class. Hence, we can predict a distinct formation pathway for galaxies with a decreasing profile and show that the centre resembles an old embedded disc. Furthermore, we show that the radius of the kinematic transition provides a good estimation for the transition radius from in-situ stars in the centre to accreted stars in the halo.

The inner parsec of our Galaxy contains tens of Wolf–Rayet stars whose powerful outflows are constantly interacting while filling the region with hot, diffuse plasma. Theoretical models have shown that, in some cases, the collision of stellar winds can generate cold, dense material in the form of clumps. However, their formation process and properties are not well understood yet. In this work, we present, for the first time, a statistical study of the clump formation process in unstable wind collisions. We study systems with dense outflows (${\sim }10^{-5}\rm \ M_{\odot }\ yr^{-1}$), wind speeds of 500–$1500\rm \ km\ s^{-1}$, and stellar separations of ∼20–$200\rm \ au$. We develop three-dimensional high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of stellar wind collisions with the adaptive-mesh refinement grid-based code ramses. We aim at characterizing the initial properties of clumps that form through hydrodynamic instabilities, mostly via the non-linear thin-shell instability (NTSI). Our results confirm that more massive clumps are formed in systems whose winds are close to the transition between the radiative and adiabatic regimes. Increasing either the wind speed or the degree of asymmetry increases the dispersion of the clump mass and ejection speed distributions. Nevertheless, the most massive clumps are very light (∼10−3–$10^{-2}\rm \ M_{\oplus }$), about three orders of magnitude less massive than theoretical upper limits. Applying these results to the Galactic Centre, we find that clumps formed through the NTSI should not be heavy enough either to affect the thermodynamic state of the region or to survive for long enough to fall on to the central supermassive black hole.

We use a dedicated 0.7-m telescope to image the halos of 119 galaxies in the Local Volume to $\mu_r \sim 28-30$ mag/arcsec$^2$. The sample is primarily from the 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas and extended to include nearby dwarf galaxies and more distant giant ellipticals, and spans fully the galaxy colour-magnitude diagram including the blue cloud and red sequence. We present an initial overview, including deep images of our galaxies. Our observations reproduce previously reported low surface brightness structures, including extended plumes in M51, and a newly discovered tidally extended dwarf galaxy in NGC7331. Low surface brightness structures, or "envelopes", exceeding 50 kpc in diameter are found mostly in galaxies with $M_V, Comment: 34 pages, 27 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS. The observations (FITS images) will be available by October 2019

The effect of galactic orbits on a galaxy's internal evolution within a galaxy cluster environment has been the focus of heated debate in recent years. To understand this connection, we use both the $(0.5 \,$Gpc)$^3$ and the Gpc$^3$ boxes from the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation set Magneticum Pathfinder. We investigate the velocity-anisotropy, phase space, and the orbital evolution of up to $\sim 5 \cdot 10^{5}$ resolved satellite galaxies within our sample of 6776 clusters with $M_{\mathrm{vir}} > 10^{14} \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ at low redshift, which we also trace back in time. In agreement with observations, we find that star-forming satellite galaxies inside galaxy clusters are characterised by more radially dominated orbits, independent of cluster mass. Furthermore, the vast majority of star-forming satellite galaxies stop forming stars during their first passage. We find a strong dichotomy both in line-of-sight and radial phase space between star-forming and quiescent galaxies, in line with observations. The tracking of individual orbits shows that the star-formation of almost all satellite galaxies drops to zero within $1 \, \mathrm{Gyr}$ after in-fall. Satellite galaxies that are able to remain star-forming longer are characterised by tangential orbits and high stellar mass. All this indicates that in galaxy clusters the dominant quenching mechanism is ram-pressure stripping., 22 pages, 16 figures, accepted by MNRAS

A panchromatic view of the star forming ring and feeding process in the central kpc of the galaxy NGC 1097 is presented. The assembled IR to UV images at $\sim$10 pc resolution allow us to characterise the population of circa 250 clusters in the ring and disentangle the network of filaments of dust and gas that enshroud and feed them. The ring is a place of intermittent star bursts over the last 100 Myr. Four major episodes covering a proto-cluster phase of eleven mid-IR sources at the molecular clouds core, and two (three) previous bursts with a time separation of 20 - 30 Myr are identified. The extinction map of the inner few kpc resolves NGC1097's two major dust lanes in bundles of narrow, $, Comment: 16 pages, 9 color figures. To appear in MNRAS

The nature of the gaseous and dusty cloud G2 in the Galactic Centre is still under debate. We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) simulations of G2, modeled as an outflow from a "compact source" moving on the observed orbit. The construction of mock position-velocity (PV) diagrams enables a direct comparison with observations and allow us to conclude that the observational properties of the gaseous component of G2 could be matched by a massive ($\dot{M}_\mathrm{w}=5\times 10^{-7} \;M_{\odot} \mathrm{yr^{-1}}$) and slow ($50 \;\mathrm{km \;s^{-1}}$) outflow, as observed for T Tauri stars. In order for this to be true, only the material at larger ($>100 \;\mathrm{AU}$) distances from the source must be actually emitting, otherwise G2 would appear too compact compared to the observed PV diagrams. On the other hand, the presence of a central dusty source might be able to explain the compactness of G2's dust component. In the present scenario, 5-10 years after pericentre the compact source should decouple from the previously ejected material, due to the hydrodynamic interaction of the latter with the surrounding hot and dense atmosphere. In this case, a new outflow should form, ahead of the previous one, which would be the smoking gun evidence for an outflow scenario., resubmitted to MNRAS after referee report, 16 pages, 11 figures

(Abridged) We derive an analytical formula which provides estimates on multiscale gravitational energy distribution using the observed surface density PDF. Our analytical formalism also enables one to convert the observed column density PDF into an estimated volume density PDF, and to obtain average radial density profile $\rho(r)$. For a region with $N_{\rm col} \sim N^{-\gamma_{\rm N}}$, the gravitational energy spectra is $E_{\rm p}(k)\sim k^{-4(1 - 1/\gamma_{\rm N})}$. We apply the formula to observations of molecular clouds, and find that a scaling index of $-2$ of the surface density PDF implies that $\rho \sim r^{-2}$ and $E_{\rm p}(k) \sim k^{-2}$. The results are valid from the cloud scale (a few parsec) to around $\sim 0.1 \;\rm pc$. Because of the resemblance the scaling index of the gravitational energy spectrum and the that of the kinetic energy power spectrum of the Burgers turbulence (where $E\sim k^{-2}$), our result indicates that gravity can act effectively against turbulence over a multitude of physical scales. This is the critical scaling index which divides molecular clouds into two categories: clouds like Orion and Ophiuchus have shallower power laws, and the amount of gravitational energy is too large for turbulence to be effective inside the cloud. Because gravity dominates, we call this type of cloud g-type clouds. On the other hand, clouds like the California molecular cloud and the Pipe nebula have steeper power laws, and turbulence can overcome gravity if it can cascade effectively from the large scale. We call this type of cloud t-type clouds. The analytical formula can be used to determine if gravity is dominating cloud evolution when the column density probability distribution function (PDF) can be reliably determined., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS

We study the dynamical response of extended systems, hosts, to smaller systems, satellites, orbiting around the hosts using extremely high-resolution N-body simulations with up to one billion particles. This situation corresponds to minor mergers which are ubiquitous in the scenario of hierarchical structure formation in the universe. According to Chandrasekhar (1943), satellites create density wakes along the orbit and the wakes cause a deceleration force on satellites, i.e. dynamical friction. This study proposes an analytical model to predict the dynamical response of hosts as reflected in their density distribution and finds not only traditional wakes but also mirror images of over- and underdensities centered on the host. Our controlled N-body simulations with high resolutions verify the predictions of the analytical model. We apply our analytical model to the expected dynamical response of nearby interacting galaxy pairs, the Milky Way - Large Magellanic Cloud system and the M31 - M33 system., 10 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in MNRAS

Stellar winds and supernova (SN) explosions of massive stars ("stellar feedback") create bubbles in the interstellar medium (ISM) and insert newly produced heavy elements and kinetic energy into their surroundings, possibly driving turbulence. Most of this energy is thermalized and immediately removed from the ISM by radiative cooling. The rest is available for driving ISM dynamics. In this work we estimate the amount of feedback energy retained as kinetic energy when the bubble walls have decelerated to the sound speed of the ambient medium. We show that the feedback of the most massive star outweighs the feedback from less massive stars. For a giant molecular cloud (GMC) mass of 1e5 solar masses (as e.g. found in the Orion GMCs) and a star formation efficiency of 8% the initial mass function predicts a most massive star of approximately 60 solar masses. For this stellar evolution model we test the dependence of the retained kinetic energy of the cold GMC gas on the inclusion of stellar winds. In our model winds insert 2.34 times the energy of a SN and create stellar wind bubbles serving as pressure reservoirs. We find that during the pressure driven phases of the bubble evolution radiative losses peak near the contact discontinuity (CD), and thus, the retained energy depends critically on the scales of the mixing processes across the CD. Taking into account the winds of massive stars increases the amount of kinetic energy deposited in the cold ISM from 0.1% to a few percent of the feedback energy., The manuscript MN-15-2374-MJ.R2 has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal on 2015 November 16