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Main Authors: Lin, Chi-Hong, Fujii, Michiko S, Saitoh, Takayuki R, Hirai, Yutaka
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22206
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author Lin, Chi-Hong
Fujii, Michiko S
Saitoh, Takayuki R
Hirai, Yutaka
author_facet Lin, Chi-Hong
Fujii, Michiko S
Saitoh, Takayuki R
Hirai, Yutaka
contents Low-mass dwarf galaxies ($M_{\rm vir} \lesssim 10^9\rm\ M_\odot$) are fundamental cosmological building blocks, yet the physical processes driving their structural diversity remain poorly understood. Recent numerical simulations have suggested a diversity in the stellar-to-halo mass ratio in this halo mass range, but either the number of samples obtained from the same simulation setup or the numerical resolution was limited. We performed high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations for eight galaxies with a dark matter halo mass of $\sim 10^9\rm\ M_{\odot}$ up to $t=1.2$ Gyr at which most gas in the galaxies has been expelled. Our samples have a scatter of an order of magnitude in the halo mass at the reionization epoch. The stellar-to-halo mass ratio expected at $z=0$ scatters nearly two orders of magnitude with $5\times10^{-5}$ to $2\times10^{-3}$. We also observed variation in the compactness of their stellar distributions. Some of our simulated galaxies exhibit a stellar half-mass radius of $\sim30$ pc, which is as small as that of ultra-compact dwarfs. The formation condition for such a compact stellar distribution is understood as an analog of the condition for the formation of dense, massive star clusters. We found that when the central gas surface density exceeds a critical threshold ($Σ_{\rm gas} \gtrsim 30\rm\ M_\odot \rm\ {pc}^{-2}$), the star formation becomes highly efficient and results in dense stellar systems. These results suggest that UCDs can form in situ even in isolated dark matter halos.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_22206
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle SIRIUS: The relation between the diversity of dwarf galaxies and their formation histories
Lin, Chi-Hong
Fujii, Michiko S
Saitoh, Takayuki R
Hirai, Yutaka
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Low-mass dwarf galaxies ($M_{\rm vir} \lesssim 10^9\rm\ M_\odot$) are fundamental cosmological building blocks, yet the physical processes driving their structural diversity remain poorly understood. Recent numerical simulations have suggested a diversity in the stellar-to-halo mass ratio in this halo mass range, but either the number of samples obtained from the same simulation setup or the numerical resolution was limited. We performed high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations for eight galaxies with a dark matter halo mass of $\sim 10^9\rm\ M_{\odot}$ up to $t=1.2$ Gyr at which most gas in the galaxies has been expelled. Our samples have a scatter of an order of magnitude in the halo mass at the reionization epoch. The stellar-to-halo mass ratio expected at $z=0$ scatters nearly two orders of magnitude with $5\times10^{-5}$ to $2\times10^{-3}$. We also observed variation in the compactness of their stellar distributions. Some of our simulated galaxies exhibit a stellar half-mass radius of $\sim30$ pc, which is as small as that of ultra-compact dwarfs. The formation condition for such a compact stellar distribution is understood as an analog of the condition for the formation of dense, massive star clusters. We found that when the central gas surface density exceeds a critical threshold ($Σ_{\rm gas} \gtrsim 30\rm\ M_\odot \rm\ {pc}^{-2}$), the star formation becomes highly efficient and results in dense stellar systems. These results suggest that UCDs can form in situ even in isolated dark matter halos.
title SIRIUS: The relation between the diversity of dwarf galaxies and their formation histories
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22206