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arXiv 2409.15909astro-ph.GA
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宇宙历史中星系薄盘与厚盘的出现

The emergence of galactic thin and thick discs across cosmic history

Takafumi Tsukui, Emily Wisnioski, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Ken Freeman

AI总结:

本研究利用JWST侧向星系样本首次在宇宙学距离上识别出厚盘和薄盘,发现星系先形成厚盘再形成薄盘,且该顺序形成以downsizing方式随质量下降而延迟,并可由Toomre Q调控的盘形成机制解释。

摘要:

现今的盘星系通常呈现出明显的薄盘和厚盘。这两种盘的形成机制及其出现时间仍是未解之谜。为解决这些问题,我们从旗舰级JWST项目中选取侧向星系,并在静止坐标系近红外波段研究其盘结构。我们首次在宇宙学距离上——追溯至100多亿年前——识别出厚盘和薄盘,并研究了它们分解后的结构性质。我们将星系分为需要两个盘(即薄盘和厚盘)的星系和可由单一盘很好拟合的星系。盘的径向尺度和垂直高度与星系总质量和/或盘质量强相关,且与宇宙时间无关。厚盘的结构类似于在单盘星系中发现的盘,表明星系首先形成厚盘,随后在其内部形成嵌入的薄盘。从单盘到双盘的转变在大质量星系($10^{9.75} - 10^{11}M_\odot$)中约发生在80亿年前,早于低质量星系($10^{9.0} - 10^{9.75}M_\odot$)中40亿年前发生的转变,表明顺序形成以“downsizing”方式进行。Toomre $Q$调控的盘形成解释了低质量星系中薄盘形成的延迟,从而导致了观测到的厚盘与薄盘质量比和星系总质量之间的反相关关系。尽管顺序形成占主导地位,观测仍表明厚盘可能与其薄盘对应体一起继续积累质量。

英文摘要:

Present-day disc galaxies often exhibit distinct thin and thick discs. The formation mechanisms of the two discs and the timing of their onset remain open questions. To address these questions, we select edge-on galaxies from flagship JWST programs and investigate their disc structures in rest-frame, near-infrared bands. For the first time, we identify thick and thin discs at cosmological distances, dating back over 10 Gyr, and investigate their decomposed structural properties. We classify galaxies into those that require two (i.e. thin and thick) discs and those well fitted by a single disc. Disc radial sizes and vertical heights correlate strongly with the total galaxy mass and/or disc mass, independent of cosmic time. The structure of the thick disc resembles discs found in single-disc galaxies, suggesting that galaxies form a thick disc first, followed by the subsequent formation of an embedded thin disc. The transition from single to double discs occurred around 8 Gyr ago in high-mass galaxies ($10^{9.75} - 10^{11}M_\odot$), earlier than the transition which occurred 4 Gyr ago in low-mass galaxies ($10^{9.0} - 10^{9.75}M_\odot$), indicating sequential formation proceeds in a "downsizing" manner. Toomre $Q$-regulated disc formation explains the delayed thin disc formation in low-mass galaxies, leading to the observed anti-correlation between the thick-to-thin disc mass ratio and the total galaxy mass. Despite the dominant sequential formation, observations suggest that thick discs may continue to build up mass alongside their thin-disc counterparts.

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