分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We describe a public data release of the FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulations of galaxy formation, available at http://flathub.flatironinstitute.org/fire, from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. FIRE-2 simulations achieve parsec-scale resolution to explicitly model the multi-phase interstellar medium while implementing direct models for stellar evolution and feedback, including stellar winds, core-collapse and Ia supernovae, radiation pressure, photoionization, and photoelectric heating. We release complete snapshots from 3 suites of simulations. The first comprises 20 simulations that zoom in on 14 Milky Way-mass galaxies, 5 SMC/LMC-mass galaxies, and 4 lower-mass galaxies including 1 ultra-faint; we release 39 snapshots across z = 0 - 10. The second comprises 4 massive galaxies, with 19 snapshots across z = 1 - 10. Finally, a high-redshift suite comprises 22 simulations, with 11 snapshots across z = 5 - 10. Each simulation also includes dozens of resolved lower-mass (satellite) galaxies in its zoom-in region. Snapshots include all stored properties for all dark matter, gas, and star particles, including 11 elemental abundances for stars and gas, and formation times (ages) of star particles. We also release accompanying (sub)halo catalogs, which include galaxy properties and member star particles. For the simulations to z = 0, including all Milky Way-mass galaxies, we release the formation coordinates and an "ex-situ" flag for all star particles, pointers to track particles across snapshots, catalogs of stellar streams, and multipole basis expansions for the halo mass distributions. We describe publicly available python packages for reading and analyzing these simulations.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: As they grow, galaxies can transition from irregular/spheroidal with 'bursty' star formation histories (SFHs), to disky with smooth SFHs. But even in simulations, the direct physical cause of such transitions remains unclear. We therefore explore this in a large suite of numerical experiments re-running portions of cosmological simulations with widely varied physics, further validated with existing FIRE simulations. We show that gas supply, cooling/thermodynamics, star formation model, Toomre scale, galaxy dynamical times, and feedback properties do not have a direct causal effect on these transitions. Rather, both the formation of disks and cessation of bursty star formation are driven by the gravitational potential, but in different ways. Disk formation is promoted when the mass profile becomes sufficiently centrally-concentrated in shape (relative to circularization radii): we show that this provides a well-defined dynamical center, ceases to support the global 'breathing modes' which can persist indefinitely in less-concentrated profiles and efficiently destroy disks, promotes orbit mixing to form a coherent angular momentum, and stabilizes the disk. Smooth SF is promoted by the potential or escape velocity (not circular velocity) becoming sufficiently large at the radii of star formation that cool, mass-loaded (momentum-conserving) outflows are trapped/confined near the galaxy, as opposed to escaping after bursts. We discuss the detailed physics, how these conditions arise in cosmological contexts, their relation to other correlated phenomena (e.g. inner halo virialization, vertical disk 'settling'), and observations.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: Dwarf galaxies located in extremely under-dense cosmic voids are excellent test-beds for disentangling the effects of large-scale environment on galaxy formation and evolution. We present integral field spectroscopy for low-mass galaxies ($M_{\star}=10^{7}-10^{9}~M_{\odot}$) located inside (N=21) and outside (N=9) cosmic voids using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). Using measurements of stellar line-of-sight rotational velocity $v_{\mathrm{rot}}$ and velocity dispersion $\sigma_{\star}$, we test the tidal stirring hypothesis, which posits that dwarf spheroidal galaxies are formed through tidal interactions with more massive host galaxies. We measure low values of $v_{\mathrm{rot}}/\sigma_{\star}\lesssim2$ for our sample of isolated dwarf galaxies, and we find no trend between $v_{\mathrm{rot}}/\sigma_{\star}$ and distance from a massive galaxy $d_{L^{\star}}$ out to $d_{L^{\star}}\sim10$ Mpc. These suggest that dwarf galaxies can become dispersion-supported "puffy" systems even in the absence of environmental effects like tidal interactions. We also find indications of an upward trend between $v_{\mathrm{rot}}/\sigma_{\star}$ and galaxy stellar mass, perhaps implying that stellar disk formation depends on mass rather than environment. Although some of our conclusions may be slightly modified by systematic effects, our main result still holds: that isolated low-mass galaxies may form and remain as puffy systems rather than the dynamically cold disks predicted by classical galaxy formation theory.