Angular momentum and morphological sequence of massive galaxies through Dark Sage

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Main Authors: Porras-Valverde, Antonio J., Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly, Berlind, Andreas A., Stevens, Adam R. H.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2019
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author Porras-Valverde, Antonio J.
Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly
Berlind, Andreas A.
Stevens, Adam R. H.
author_facet Porras-Valverde, Antonio J.
Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly
Berlind, Andreas A.
Stevens, Adam R. H.
contents We study the present-day connection between galaxy morphology and angular momentum using the {\sc Dark Sage} semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. For galaxies between $ 10^{11}-10^{12} \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ in stellar mass, the model successfully predicts the observed trend whereby galaxies with more prominent disks exhibit higher {\em stellar} disk specific angular momentum ($j_{\rm stellar, disk}$) at fixed stellar mass. However, when we include the gas in the disk, bulge-dominated galaxies have the highest {\em total} disk specific angular momentum ($j_{\rm total, disk}$). We attribute this to a large contribution from an extended disk of cold gas in typical bulge-dominated galaxies. We find the relationship between $j_{\rm dark matter}$ and morphology to be quite complex. Surprisingly, in this stellar mass range, not only do bulge-dominated galaxies tend to live in halos with higher $j_{\rm dark matter}$ than disk-dominated galaxies, but intermediate galaxies (those with roughly equal fractions of bulge and disk mass) have the lowest $j_{\rm dark matter}$ of all. Yet, when controlling for halo mass, rather than stellar mass, the relationship between $j_{\rm dark matter}$ and morphology vanishes. Based on these results, halo mass rather than angular momentum is the main driver of the predicted morphology sequence at high masses. In fact, in our stellar mass range, disk-dominated galaxies live in dark matter halos that are roughly 1/10th the mass of their bulge-dominated counterparts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1910_13467
institution arXiv
publishDate 2019
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Angular momentum and morphological sequence of massive galaxies through Dark Sage
Porras-Valverde, Antonio J.
Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly
Berlind, Andreas A.
Stevens, Adam R. H.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
We study the present-day connection between galaxy morphology and angular momentum using the {\sc Dark Sage} semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. For galaxies between $ 10^{11}-10^{12} \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ in stellar mass, the model successfully predicts the observed trend whereby galaxies with more prominent disks exhibit higher {\em stellar} disk specific angular momentum ($j_{\rm stellar, disk}$) at fixed stellar mass. However, when we include the gas in the disk, bulge-dominated galaxies have the highest {\em total} disk specific angular momentum ($j_{\rm total, disk}$). We attribute this to a large contribution from an extended disk of cold gas in typical bulge-dominated galaxies. We find the relationship between $j_{\rm dark matter}$ and morphology to be quite complex. Surprisingly, in this stellar mass range, not only do bulge-dominated galaxies tend to live in halos with higher $j_{\rm dark matter}$ than disk-dominated galaxies, but intermediate galaxies (those with roughly equal fractions of bulge and disk mass) have the lowest $j_{\rm dark matter}$ of all. Yet, when controlling for halo mass, rather than stellar mass, the relationship between $j_{\rm dark matter}$ and morphology vanishes. Based on these results, halo mass rather than angular momentum is the main driver of the predicted morphology sequence at high masses. In fact, in our stellar mass range, disk-dominated galaxies live in dark matter halos that are roughly 1/10th the mass of their bulge-dominated counterparts.
title Angular momentum and morphological sequence of massive galaxies through Dark Sage
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.13467