Dense stellar clump formation driven by strong quasar winds in the FIRE cosmological hydrodynamic simulations

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Autori principali: Mercedes-Feliz, Jonathan, Anglés-Alcázar, Daniel, Oh, Boon Kiat, Hayward, Christopher C., Cochrane, Rachel K., Richings, Alexander J., Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André, Wellons, Sarah, Terrazas, Bryan A., Moreno, Jorge, Su, Kung Yi, Hopkins, Philip F.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Mercedes-Feliz, Jonathan
Anglés-Alcázar, Daniel
Oh, Boon Kiat
Hayward, Christopher C.
Cochrane, Rachel K.
Richings, Alexander J.
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Wellons, Sarah
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Moreno, Jorge
Su, Kung Yi
Hopkins, Philip F.
author_facet Mercedes-Feliz, Jonathan
Anglés-Alcázar, Daniel
Oh, Boon Kiat
Hayward, Christopher C.
Cochrane, Rachel K.
Richings, Alexander J.
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Wellons, Sarah
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Moreno, Jorge
Su, Kung Yi
Hopkins, Philip F.
contents We investigate the formation of dense stellar clumps in a suite of high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of a massive, star forming galaxy at $z \sim 2$ under the presence of strong quasar winds. Our simulations include multi-phase ISM physics from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project and a novel implementation of hyper-refined accretion disk winds. We show that powerful quasar winds can have a global negative impact on galaxy growth while in the strongest cases triggering the formation of an off-center clump with stellar mass ${\rm M}_{\star}\sim 10^{7}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$, effective radius ${\rm R}_{\rm 1/2\,\rm Clump}\sim 20\,{\rm pc}$, and surface density $Σ_{\star} \sim 10^{4}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm pc}^{-2}$. The clump progenitor gas cloud is originally not star-forming, but strong ram pressure gradients driven by the quasar winds (orders of magnitude stronger than experienced in the absence of winds) lead to rapid compression and subsequent conversion of gas into stars at densities much higher than the average density of star-forming gas. The AGN-triggered star-forming clump reaches ${\rm SFR} \sim 50\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$ and $Σ_{\rm SFR} \sim 10^{4}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}\,{\rm kpc}^{-2}$, converting most of the progenitor gas cloud into stars in $\sim$2\,Myr, significantly faster than its initial free-fall time and with stellar feedback unable to stop star formation. In contrast, the same gas cloud in the absence of quasar winds forms stars over a much longer period of time ($\sim$35\,Myr), at lower densities, and losing spatial coherency. The presence of young, ultra-dense, gravitationally bound stellar clumps in recently quenched galaxies could thus indicate local positive feedback acting alongside the strong negative impact of powerful quasar winds, providing a plausible formation scenario for globular clusters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_19863
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dense stellar clump formation driven by strong quasar winds in the FIRE cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
Mercedes-Feliz, Jonathan
Anglés-Alcázar, Daniel
Oh, Boon Kiat
Hayward, Christopher C.
Cochrane, Rachel K.
Richings, Alexander J.
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Wellons, Sarah
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Moreno, Jorge
Su, Kung Yi
Hopkins, Philip F.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We investigate the formation of dense stellar clumps in a suite of high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of a massive, star forming galaxy at $z \sim 2$ under the presence of strong quasar winds. Our simulations include multi-phase ISM physics from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project and a novel implementation of hyper-refined accretion disk winds. We show that powerful quasar winds can have a global negative impact on galaxy growth while in the strongest cases triggering the formation of an off-center clump with stellar mass ${\rm M}_{\star}\sim 10^{7}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$, effective radius ${\rm R}_{\rm 1/2\,\rm Clump}\sim 20\,{\rm pc}$, and surface density $Σ_{\star} \sim 10^{4}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm pc}^{-2}$. The clump progenitor gas cloud is originally not star-forming, but strong ram pressure gradients driven by the quasar winds (orders of magnitude stronger than experienced in the absence of winds) lead to rapid compression and subsequent conversion of gas into stars at densities much higher than the average density of star-forming gas. The AGN-triggered star-forming clump reaches ${\rm SFR} \sim 50\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$ and $Σ_{\rm SFR} \sim 10^{4}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}\,{\rm kpc}^{-2}$, converting most of the progenitor gas cloud into stars in $\sim$2\,Myr, significantly faster than its initial free-fall time and with stellar feedback unable to stop star formation. In contrast, the same gas cloud in the absence of quasar winds forms stars over a much longer period of time ($\sim$35\,Myr), at lower densities, and losing spatial coherency. The presence of young, ultra-dense, gravitationally bound stellar clumps in recently quenched galaxies could thus indicate local positive feedback acting alongside the strong negative impact of powerful quasar winds, providing a plausible formation scenario for globular clusters.
title Dense stellar clump formation driven by strong quasar winds in the FIRE cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.19863