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We use hydrodynamical simulations from the OWLS project to investigate the dependence of the physical properties of galaxy populations at redshift 2 on the assumed star formation law, the equation of state imposed on the unresolved interstellar medium, the stellar initial mass function, the reionization history, and the assumed cosmology. This work complements that of Paper I, where we studied the effects of varying models for galactic winds driven by star formation and AGN. The normalisation of the matter power spectrum strongly affects the galaxy mass function, but has a relatively small effect on the physical properties of galaxies residing in haloes of a fixed mass. Reionization suppresses the stellar masses and gas fractions of low-mass galaxies, but by z = 2 the results are insensitive to the timing of reionization. The stellar initial mass function mainly determines the physical properties of galaxies through its effect on the efficiency of the feedback, while changes in the recycled mass and metal fractions play a smaller role. If we use a recipe for star formation that reproduces the observed star formation law independently of the assumed equation of state of the unresolved ISM, then the latter is unimportant. The star formation law, i.e. the gas consumption time scale as a function of surface density, determines the mass of dense, star-forming gas in galaxies, but affects neither the star formation rate nor the stellar mass. This can be understood in terms of self-regulation: the gas fraction adjusts until the outflow rate balances the inflow rate.
We use hydrodynamical simulations from the OWLS project to investigate the dependence of the physical properties of galaxy populations at redshift 2 on metal-line cooling and feedback from star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN). We find that if the sub-grid feedback from star formation is implemented kinetically, the feedback is only efficient if the initial wind velocity exceeds a critical value. This critical velocity increases with galaxy mass and also if metal-line cooling is included. This suggests that radiative losses quench the winds if their initial velocity is too low. If the feedback is efficient, then the star formation rate is inversely proportional to the amount of energy injected per unit stellar mass formed (which is proportional to the initial mass loading for a fixed wind velocity). This can be understood if the star formation is self-regulating, i.e. if the star formation rate (and thus the gas fraction) increase until the outflow rate balances the inflow rate. Feedback from AGN is efficient at high masses, while increasing the initial wind velocity with gas pressure or halo mass allows one to generate galaxy-wide outflows at all masses. Matching the observed galaxy mass function requires efficient feedback. In particular, the predicted faint-end slope is too steep unless we resort to highly mass loaded winds for low-mass objects. Such efficient feedback from low-mass galaxies (M_* << 10^10 Msun) also reduces the discrepancy with the observed specific star formation rates, which are higher than predicted unless the feedback transitions from highly efficient to inefficient just below the observed stellar mass range.
We use the cosmo-OWLS suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the scatter and evolution of the global hot gas properties of large simulated populations of galaxy groups and clusters. Our aim is to compare the predictions of different physical models and to explore the extent to which commonly-adopted assumptions in observational analyses (e.g. self-similar evolution) are violated. We examine the relations between (true) halo mass and the X-ray temperature, X-ray luminosity, gas mass, Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) flux, the X-ray analogue of the SZ flux ($Y_X$) and the hydrostatic mass. For the most realistic models, which include AGN feedback, the slopes of the various mass-observable relations deviate substantially from the self-similar ones, particularly at late times and for low-mass clusters. The amplitude of the mass-temperature relation shows negative evolution with respect to the self-similar prediction (i.e. slower than the prediction) for all models, driven by an increase in non-thermal pressure support at higher redshifts. The AGN models predict strong positive evolution of the gas mass fractions at low halo masses. The SZ flux and $Y_X$ show positive evolution with respect to self-similarity at low mass but negative evolution at high mass. The scatter about the relations is well approximated by log-normal distributions, with widths that depend mildly on halo mass. The scatter decreases significantly with increasing redshift. The exception is the hydrostatic mass-halo mass relation, for which the scatter increases with redshift. Finally, we discuss the relative merits of various hot gas-based mass proxies.
We present observations of SPT-S J053816-5030.8, a gravitationally-lensed dusty star forming galaxy (DSFG) at z = 2.7817, first discovered at millimeter wavelengths by the South Pole Telescope. SPT 0538-50 is typical of the brightest sources found by wide-field millimeter-wavelength surveys, being lensed by an intervening galaxy at moderate redshift (in this instance, at z = 0.441). We present a wide array of multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric data on SPT 0538-50, including data from ALMA, Herschel PACS and SPIRE, Hubble, Spitzer, VLT, ATCA, APEX, and the SMA. We use high resolution imaging from HST to de-blend SPT 0538-50, separating DSFG emission from that of the foreground lens. Combined with a source model derived from ALMA imaging (which suggests a magnification factor of 21 +/- 4), we derive the intrinsic properties of SPT 0538-50, including the stellar mass, far-IR luminosity, star formation rate, molecular gas mass, and - using molecular line fluxes - the excitation conditions within the ISM. The derived physical properties argue that we are witnessing compact, merger-driven star formation in SPT 0538-50, similar to local starburst galaxies, and unlike that seen in some other DSFGs at this epoch.
We analyze the physical conditions in the interstellar gas of 11 actively star-forming galaxies at z~2, based on integral-field spectroscopy from the ESO-VLT and HST/NICMOS imaging. We concentrate on the high H-alpha surface brightnesses, large line widths, line ratios and the clumpy nature of these galaxies. We show that photoionization calculations and emission line diagnostics imply gas pressures and densities that are similar to the most intense nearby star-forming regions at z=0 but over much larger scales (10-20 kpc). A relationship between surface brightness and velocity dispersion can be explained through simple energy injection arguments and a scaling set by nearby galaxies with no free parameters. The high velocity dispersions are a natural consequence of intense star formation thus regions of high velocity dispersion are not evidence for mass concentrations such as bulges or rings. External mechanisms like cosmological gas accretion generally do not have enough energy to sustain the high velocity dispersions. In some cases, the high pressures and low gas metallicites may make it difficult to robustly distinguish between AGN ionization cones and star formation, as we show for BzK-15504 at z=2.38. We construct a picture where the early stages of galaxy evolution are driven by self-gravity which powers strong turbulence until the velocity dispersion is high. Then massive, dense, gas-rich clumps collapse, triggering star formation with high efficiencies and intensities as observed. At this stage, the intense star formation is likely self-regulated by the mechanical energy output of massive stars.
We report the discovery and constrain the physical conditions of the interstellar medium of the highest-redshift millimeter-selected dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) to date, SPT-S J031132-5823.4 (hereafter SPT0311-58), at $z=6.900 +/- 0.002$. SPT0311-58 was discovered via its 1.4mm thermal dust continuum emission in the South Pole Telescope (SPT)-SZ survey. The spectroscopic redshift was determined through an ALMA 3mm frequency scan that detected CO(6-5), CO(7-6) and [CI](2-1), and subsequently confirmed by detections of CO(3-2) with ATCA and [CII] with APEX. We constrain the properties of the ISM in SPT0311-58 with a radiative transfer analysis of the dust continuum photometry and the CO and [CI] line emission. This allows us to determine the gas content without ad hoc assumptions about gas mass scaling factors. SPT0311-58 is extremely massive, with an intrinsic gas mass of $M_{rm gas} = 3.3 pm 1.9 times10^{11},M_{odot}$. Its large mass and intense star formation is very rare for a source well into the Epoch of Reionization.