A mass threshold for galactic gas discs by spin flips

Avishai Dekel*, Omri Ginzburg, Fangzhou Jiang, Jonathan Freundlich, Sharon Lapiner, Daniel Ceverino, Joel Primack

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

We predict, analytically and by simulations, that gas discs tend to survive only in haloes above a threshold mass ~2 × 1011M(stellar mass ~109M), with only a weak redshift dependence. At lower masses, the disc spins typically flip in less than an orbital time due to mergers associated with a change in the pattern of the feeding cosmic-web streams. This threshold arises from the halo merger rate when accounting for the mass dependence of the ratio of galactic baryons and halo mass. Above the threshold, wet compactions lead to massive central nuggets that allow the longevity of extended clumpy gas rings. Supernova feedback has amajor role in disrupting discs below the critical mass, by driving the stellar-to-halomass ratio that affects the merger rate, by stirring up turbulence and suppressing high-angular-momentum gas supply, and by confining major compactions to the critical mass. Our predictions seem consistent with current observed fractions of gas discs, to be explored by future observations that will resolve galaxies below 109Mat high redshifts, e.g. by JWST.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4126-4142
Number of pages17
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume493
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Galaxies: evolution
  • Galaxies: formation
  • Galaxies: haloes
  • Galaxies: spirals

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