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ABSTRACT 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 ∼ 2 under the presence of strong quasar winds. Our simulations include multiphase ISM physics from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project and a novel implementation of hyper-refined accretion disc 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-centre 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 $$\Sigma _{\star } \sim 10^{4}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }\, {\rm pc}^{-2}$$. 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 $$\Sigma _{\rm SFR} \sim 10^{4}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }\, {\rm yr}^{-1}\, {\rm kpc}^{-2}$$, converting most of the progenitor gas cloud into stars in ∼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 (∼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.
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Swirls of FIRE: spatially resolved gas velocity dispersions and star formation rates in FIRE-2 disc environments
ABSTRACT We study the spatially resolved (sub-kpc) gas velocity dispersion (σ)–star formation rate (SFR) relation in the FIRE-2 (Feedback in Realistic Environments) cosmological simulations. We specifically focus on Milky Way-mass disc galaxies at late times (z ≈ 0). In agreement with observations, we find a relatively flat relationship, with σ ≈ 15–30 km s−1 in neutral gas across 3 dex in SFRs. We show that higher dense gas fractions (ratios of dense gas to neutral gas) and SFRs are correlated at constant σ. Similarly, lower gas fractions (ratios of gas to stellar mass) are correlated with higher σ at constant SFR. The limits of the σ–ΣSFR relation correspond to the onset of strong outflows. We see evidence of ‘on-off’ cycles of star formation in the simulations, corresponding to feedback injection time-scales of 10–100 Myr, where SFRs oscillate about equilibrium SFR predictions. Finally, SFRs and velocity dispersions in the simulations agree well with feedback-regulated and marginally stable gas disc (Toomre’s Q = 1) model predictions, and the simulation data effectively rule out models assuming that gas turns into stars at (low) constant efficiency (i.e. 1 per cent per free-fall time). And although the simulation data do not entirely exclude gas accretion/gravitationally powered turbulence as a driver of σ, it appears to be subdominant to stellar feedback in the simulated galaxy discs at z ≈ 0.
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- PAR ID:
- 10184315
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 496
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1620 to 1637
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa1619
