Dynamically cold disks in the early Universe: myth or reality?

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kohandel, Mahsa, Pallottini, Andrea, Ferrara, Andrea, Zanella, Anita, Rizzo, Francesca, Carniani, Stefano
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Kohandel, Mahsa
Pallottini, Andrea
Ferrara, Andrea
Zanella, Anita
Rizzo, Francesca
Carniani, Stefano
author_facet Kohandel, Mahsa
Pallottini, Andrea
Ferrara, Andrea
Zanella, Anita
Rizzo, Francesca
Carniani, Stefano
contents Theoretical models struggle to reproduce dynamically cold disks with significant rotation-to-dispersion support($V_{\rm{rot}}/σ$) observed in star-forming galaxies in the early Universe, at redshift $z>4$. We aim to explore the possible emergence of dynamically cold disks in cosmological simulations and to understand if different kinematic tracers can help reconcile the tension between theory and observations. We use 3218 galaxies from the SERRA suite of zoom-in simulations, with $8<\log(M_*/M_{\odot})<10.3$ and SFR$<128\,M_{\odot}{yr}^{-1}$, within $4<z<9$ range. We generate hyper-spectral data cubes for 6436 synthetic observations of H$α$ and [CII]. We find that the choice of kinematic tracer strongly influences gas velocity dispersion estimates. When using H$α$ ([CII]) synthetic observations, we observe a strong (mild) correlation between $σ$ and $M_*$. Such a difference arises mostly for $M_*>10^9\,M_{\odot}$ galaxies, for which $σ_{Hα}>2σ_{CII}$ for a significant fraction of the sample. Regardless of the tracer, our predictions suggest the existence of massive ($M_*>10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies with $V_{rot}/σ>10$ at $z>4$, maintaining cold disks for >10 orbital periods (200Myr). Furthermore, we do not find any significant redshift dependence for $V_{rot}/σ$ ratio in our sample. Our simulations predict the existence of dynamically cold disks in the early Universe. However, different tracers are sensitive to different kinematic properties. While [CII] effectively traces the thin, gaseous disk of galaxies, H$α$ includes the contribution from ionized gas beyond the disk, characterized by prevalent vertical or radial motions that may be associated with outflows. The presence of H$α$ halos could be a signature of such galactic outflows. This emphasizes the importance of combining ALMA and JWST/NIRspec studies of high-z galaxies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_05832
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamically cold disks in the early Universe: myth or reality?
Kohandel, Mahsa
Pallottini, Andrea
Ferrara, Andrea
Zanella, Anita
Rizzo, Francesca
Carniani, Stefano
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Theoretical models struggle to reproduce dynamically cold disks with significant rotation-to-dispersion support($V_{\rm{rot}}/σ$) observed in star-forming galaxies in the early Universe, at redshift $z>4$. We aim to explore the possible emergence of dynamically cold disks in cosmological simulations and to understand if different kinematic tracers can help reconcile the tension between theory and observations. We use 3218 galaxies from the SERRA suite of zoom-in simulations, with $8<\log(M_*/M_{\odot})<10.3$ and SFR$<128\,M_{\odot}{yr}^{-1}$, within $4<z<9$ range. We generate hyper-spectral data cubes for 6436 synthetic observations of H$α$ and [CII]. We find that the choice of kinematic tracer strongly influences gas velocity dispersion estimates. When using H$α$ ([CII]) synthetic observations, we observe a strong (mild) correlation between $σ$ and $M_*$. Such a difference arises mostly for $M_*>10^9\,M_{\odot}$ galaxies, for which $σ_{Hα}>2σ_{CII}$ for a significant fraction of the sample. Regardless of the tracer, our predictions suggest the existence of massive ($M_*>10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies with $V_{rot}/σ>10$ at $z>4$, maintaining cold disks for >10 orbital periods (200Myr). Furthermore, we do not find any significant redshift dependence for $V_{rot}/σ$ ratio in our sample. Our simulations predict the existence of dynamically cold disks in the early Universe. However, different tracers are sensitive to different kinematic properties. While [CII] effectively traces the thin, gaseous disk of galaxies, H$α$ includes the contribution from ionized gas beyond the disk, characterized by prevalent vertical or radial motions that may be associated with outflows. The presence of H$α$ halos could be a signature of such galactic outflows. This emphasizes the importance of combining ALMA and JWST/NIRspec studies of high-z galaxies.
title Dynamically cold disks in the early Universe: myth or reality?
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.05832