TY - JOUR
T1 - High-redshift clumpy discs and bulges in cosmological simulations
AU - Ceverino, Daniel
AU - Dekel, Avishai
AU - Bournaud, Frederic
PY - 2010/6
Y1 - 2010/6
N2 - We analyse the first cosmological simulations that recover the fragmentation of high-redshift galactic discs driven by cold streams. The fragmentation is recovered owing to an AMR resolution better than 70 pc with cooling below 104 K. We study three typical star-forming galaxies in haloes of ∼5 × 1011 M⊙ at z ≃ 2.3 when they were not undergoing a major merger. The steady gas supply by cold streams leads to gravitationally unstable, turbulent discs, which fragment into giant clumps and transient features on a dynamical time-scale. The disc clumps are not associated with dark-matter haloes. The clumpy discs are self-regulated by gravity in a marginally unstable state. Clump migration and angular-momentum transfer on an orbital time-scale help the growth of a central bulge with a mass comparable to the disc. The continuous gas input keeps the system of clumpy disc and bulge in a near steady state for several Gyr. The average star formation rate, much of which occurs in the clumps, follows the gas accretion rate of ∼45 M⊙ yr-1. The simulated galaxies resemble in many ways the observed star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Their properties are consistent with the simple theoretical framework presented in Dekel, Sari & Ceverino. In particular, a two-component analysis reveals that the simulated discs are indeed marginally unstable, and the time evolution confirms the robustness of the clumpy configuration in a cosmological steady state. By z ∼ 1, the simulated systems are stabilized by a dominant stellar spheroid, demonstrating the process of 'morphological quenching' of star formation. We demonstrate that the disc fragmentation is not a numerical artefact once the Jeans length is kept larger than nearly seven resolution elements, i.e. beyond the standard Truelove criterion.
AB - We analyse the first cosmological simulations that recover the fragmentation of high-redshift galactic discs driven by cold streams. The fragmentation is recovered owing to an AMR resolution better than 70 pc with cooling below 104 K. We study three typical star-forming galaxies in haloes of ∼5 × 1011 M⊙ at z ≃ 2.3 when they were not undergoing a major merger. The steady gas supply by cold streams leads to gravitationally unstable, turbulent discs, which fragment into giant clumps and transient features on a dynamical time-scale. The disc clumps are not associated with dark-matter haloes. The clumpy discs are self-regulated by gravity in a marginally unstable state. Clump migration and angular-momentum transfer on an orbital time-scale help the growth of a central bulge with a mass comparable to the disc. The continuous gas input keeps the system of clumpy disc and bulge in a near steady state for several Gyr. The average star formation rate, much of which occurs in the clumps, follows the gas accretion rate of ∼45 M⊙ yr-1. The simulated galaxies resemble in many ways the observed star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Their properties are consistent with the simple theoretical framework presented in Dekel, Sari & Ceverino. In particular, a two-component analysis reveals that the simulated discs are indeed marginally unstable, and the time evolution confirms the robustness of the clumpy configuration in a cosmological steady state. By z ∼ 1, the simulated systems are stabilized by a dominant stellar spheroid, demonstrating the process of 'morphological quenching' of star formation. We demonstrate that the disc fragmentation is not a numerical artefact once the Jeans length is kept larger than nearly seven resolution elements, i.e. beyond the standard Truelove criterion.
KW - Galaxies: evolution
KW - Galaxies: formation
KW - Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
KW - Galaxies: spiral
KW - Stars: formation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77953592504&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16433.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16433.x
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AN - SCOPUS:77953592504
SN - 0035-8711
VL - 404
SP - 2151
EP - 2169
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
IS - 4
ER -