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Dynamical properties of Molecular Cloud Complexes at the Epoch of Reionization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2020

T. K. Daisy Leung Open the ORCID record for T. K. Daisy Leung [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrea Pallottini Open the ORCID record for Andrea Pallottini [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrea Ferrara  and
Mordecai-Mark Mac Low
T. K. Daisy Leung
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, NY, USA email: tleung@astro.cornell.edu Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, NY, USA
Andrea Pallottini
Affiliation:
Centro Fermi, Rome, Italy Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
Andrea Ferrara
Affiliation:
Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU), University of Tokyo, Japan
Mordecai-Mark Mac Low
Affiliation:
Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, NY, USA American Museum of Natural History, NY, USA
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Abstract

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The Atacama Large (Sub-)millimeter Array (ALMA) has provided glimpse of the interstellar medium (ISM) properties of galaxies at the Epoch of Reionization (EoR); however, detailed understanding of their internal structure is still lacking. We present properties of molecular cloud complexes (MCCs) in a prototypical galaxy at this epoch studied in cosmological zoom-in simulations (Leung et al. 2019c). Typical MCC mass and size are comparable to nearby spirals and starburst galaxies (Mgas∼106.5Mȯ and R≃45–100 pc). MCCs are highly supersonic, with velocity dispersion of σgas≃20–100 km s−1 and pressure of P/kB ≃107.6Kcm−3, which are comparable to gas-rich starburst galaxies. In addition, we perform stability analysis to understand the origin and dynamical properties of MCCs. We find that MCCs are globally stable in the main disk of Althæa. Densest regions where star formation is expected to take place in clumps and cores on even smaller scales instead have lower virial parameter and Toomre-Q values. Detailed studies of the star-forming gas dynamics at the EoR thus require a spatial resolution of < 40 pc ( ≃ 0.01″), which is within reach of ALMA, to complement studies of stellar populations at EoR using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Keywords

galaxies: high-redshiftgalaxies: ISMgalaxies: evolutionISM: structureISM: kinematics and dynamics ISM: clouds
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 15 , Symposium S352: Uncovering Early Galaxy Evolution in the ALMA and JWST Era , June 2019 , pp. 38 - 39
Copyright
© International Astronomical Union 2020

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