Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3140–3159 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
| Volume | 467 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 25 Jan 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2017 |
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Angular momentum evolution of galaxies over the past 10 Gyr : A MUSE and KMOS dynamical survey of 400 star-forming galaxies from z = 0.3 to 1.7. / Swinbank, A. M.; Harrison, C. M.; Trayford, J.; Schaller, M.; Smail, Ian; Schaye, J.; Theuns, T.; Smit, R. ; Alexander, D. M.; Bacon, R. ; Bower, R.G.; Contini, T. ; Crain, R.A.; De Breuck, C.; Decarli, R.; Epinat, B. ; Fumagalli, M.; Furlong, M.; Galametz, M.; Johnson, H. L. ; Lagos Urbina, Claudia; Richard, J.; Vernet, J. ; Sharples, R. M. ; Sobral, D. ; Stott, J. P. .
In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 467, No. 3, 01.06.2017, p. 3140–3159.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Angular momentum evolution of galaxies over the past 10 Gyr
T2 - A MUSE and KMOS dynamical survey of 400 star-forming galaxies from z = 0.3 to 1.7
AU - Swinbank, A. M.
AU - Harrison, C. M.
AU - Trayford, J.
AU - Schaller, M.
AU - Smail, Ian
AU - Schaye, J.
AU - Theuns, T.
AU - Smit, R.
AU - Alexander, D. M.
AU - Bacon, R.
AU - Bower, R.G.
AU - Contini, T.
AU - Crain, R.A.
AU - De Breuck, C.
AU - Decarli, R.
AU - Epinat, B.
AU - Fumagalli, M.
AU - Furlong, M.
AU - Galametz, M.
AU - Johnson, H. L.
AU - Lagos Urbina, Claudia
AU - Richard, J.
AU - Vernet, J.
AU - Sharples, R. M.
AU - Sobral, D.
AU - Stott, J. P.
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - We present a MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) and KMOS (K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph) dynamical study 405 star-forming galaxies at redshift z = 0.28-1.65 (median redshift \bar{z} = 0.84). Our sample is representative of the star-forming 'main sequence', with star formation rates of SFR = 0.1-30 M⊙ yr-1 and stellar masses M⋆ = 108-1011 M⊙. For 49 ± 4 per cent of our sample, the dynamics suggest rotational support, 24 ± 3 per cent are unresolved systems and 5 ± 2 per cent appear to be early-stage major mergers with components on 8-30 kpc scales. The remaining 22 ± 5 per cent appear to be dynamically complex, irregular (or face-on systems). For galaxies whose dynamics suggest rotational support, we derive inclination-corrected rotational velocities and show that these systems lie on a similar scaling between stellar mass and specific angular momentum as local spirals with j⋆ = J/M_\star ∝ M_\star ^{2/3} but with a redshift evolution that scales as j⋆ ∝ M_\star ^{2/3}(1+z)^{-1}. We also identify a correlation between specific angular momentum and disc stability such that galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum (log(j⋆/M_\star ^{2/3}) > 2.5) are the most stable, with Toomre Q = 1.10 ± 0.18, compared to Q = 0.53 ± 0.22 for galaxies with log(j⋆/M_\star ^{2/3}) < 2.5. At a fixed mass, the Hubble Space Telescope morphologies of galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum resemble spiral galaxies, whilst those with low specific angular momentum are morphologically complex and dominated by several bright star-forming regions. This suggests that angular momentum plays a major role in defining the stability of gas discs: at z ∼ 1, massive galaxies that have discs with low specific angular momentum are globally unstable, clumpy and turbulent systems. In contrast, galaxies with high specific angular momentum have evolved into stable discs with spiral structure where star formation is a local (rather than global) process.
AB - We present a MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) and KMOS (K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph) dynamical study 405 star-forming galaxies at redshift z = 0.28-1.65 (median redshift \bar{z} = 0.84). Our sample is representative of the star-forming 'main sequence', with star formation rates of SFR = 0.1-30 M⊙ yr-1 and stellar masses M⋆ = 108-1011 M⊙. For 49 ± 4 per cent of our sample, the dynamics suggest rotational support, 24 ± 3 per cent are unresolved systems and 5 ± 2 per cent appear to be early-stage major mergers with components on 8-30 kpc scales. The remaining 22 ± 5 per cent appear to be dynamically complex, irregular (or face-on systems). For galaxies whose dynamics suggest rotational support, we derive inclination-corrected rotational velocities and show that these systems lie on a similar scaling between stellar mass and specific angular momentum as local spirals with j⋆ = J/M_\star ∝ M_\star ^{2/3} but with a redshift evolution that scales as j⋆ ∝ M_\star ^{2/3}(1+z)^{-1}. We also identify a correlation between specific angular momentum and disc stability such that galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum (log(j⋆/M_\star ^{2/3}) > 2.5) are the most stable, with Toomre Q = 1.10 ± 0.18, compared to Q = 0.53 ± 0.22 for galaxies with log(j⋆/M_\star ^{2/3}) < 2.5. At a fixed mass, the Hubble Space Telescope morphologies of galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum resemble spiral galaxies, whilst those with low specific angular momentum are morphologically complex and dominated by several bright star-forming regions. This suggests that angular momentum plays a major role in defining the stability of gas discs: at z ∼ 1, massive galaxies that have discs with low specific angular momentum are globally unstable, clumpy and turbulent systems. In contrast, galaxies with high specific angular momentum have evolved into stable discs with spiral structure where star formation is a local (rather than global) process.
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stx201
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stx201
M3 - Article
VL - 467
SP - 3140
EP - 3159
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 3
ER -