The connection between the peaks in velocity dispersion and star-forming clumps of turbulent galaxies

We present Keck/OSIRIS adaptive optics observations with 150-400 pc spatial sampling of 7 turbulent, clumpy disc galaxies from the DYNAMO sample ($0.07<z<0.2$). DYNAMO galaxies have previously been shown to be well matched in properties to main sequence galaxies at $z\sim1.5$. Integral field spectroscopy observations using adaptive optics are subject to a number of systematics including a variable PSF and spatial sampling, which we account for in our analysis. We present gas velocity dispersion maps corrected for these effects, and confirm that DYNAMO galaxies do have high gas velocity dispersion ($\sigma=40-80$\kms), even at high spatial sampling. We find statistically significant structure in 6 out of 7 galaxies. The most common distance between the peaks in velocity dispersion and emission line peaks is $\sim0.5$~kpc, we note this is very similar to the average size of a clump measured with HST H$\alpha$ maps. This could suggest that the peaks in velocity dispersion in clumpy galaxies likely arise due to some interaction between the clump and the surrounding ISM of the galaxy, though our observations cannot distinguish between outflows, inflows or velocity shear. Observations covering a wider area of the galaxies will be needed to confirm this result.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

The KMOS^3D Survey: design, first results, and the evolution of galaxy kinematics from 0.7<z<2.7

We present the KMOS^3D survey, a new integral field survey of over 600 galaxies at 0.7<z<2.7 using KMOS at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The KMOS^3D survey utilizes synergies with multi-wavelength ground and space-based surveys to trace the evolution of spatially-resolved kinematics and star formation from a homogeneous sample over 5 Gyrs of cosmic history. Targets, drawn from a mass-selected parent sample from the 3D-HST survey, cover the star formation-stellar mass ($M_*$) and rest-frame $(U-V)-M_*$ planes uniformly. We describe the selection of targets, the observations, and the data reduction. In the first year of data we detect Halpha emission in 191 $M_*=3\times10^{9}-7\times10^{11}$ Msun galaxies at z=0.7-1.1 and z=1.9-2.7. In the current sample 83% of the resolved galaxies are rotation-dominated, determined from a continuous velocity gradient and $v_{rot}/\sigma>1$, implying that the star-forming 'main sequence' (MS) is primarily composed of rotating galaxies at both redshift regimes. When considering additional stricter criteria, the Halpha kinematic maps indicate at least ~70% of the resolved galaxies are disk-like systems. Our high-quality KMOS data confirm the elevated velocity dispersions reported in previous IFS studies at z>0.7. For rotation-dominated disks, the average intrinsic velocity dispersion decreases by a factor of two from 50 km/s at z~2.3 to 25 km/s at z~0.9 while the rotational velocities at the two redshifts are comparable. Combined with existing results spanning z~0-3, disk velocity dispersions follow an approximate (1+z) evolution that is consistent with the dependence of velocity dispersion on gas fractions predicted by marginally-stable disk theory.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 1 Appendix; Accepted to ApJ November 2

A unified model for age-velocity dispersion relations in Local Group galaxies: Disentangling ISM turbulence and latent dynamical heating

We analyze age-velocity dispersion relations (AVRs) from kinematics of individual stars in eight Local Group galaxies ranging in mass from Carina ($M_{*} \sim 10^{6}$) to M31 ($M_{*} \sim 10^{11}$). Observationally the $\sigma$ vs. stellar age trends can be interpreted as dynamical heating of the stars by GMCs, bars/spiral arms, or merging subhalos; alternatively the stars could have simply been born out of a more turbulent ISM at high redshift and retain that larger velocity dispersion till present day - consistent with recent IFU studies. To ascertain the dominant mechanism and better understand the impact of instabilities and feedback, we develop models based on observed SFHs of these Local Group galaxies in order to create an evolutionary formalism which describes the ISM velocity dispersion due to a galaxy's evolving gas fraction. These empirical models relax the common assumption that the stars are born from gas which has constant velocity dispersion at all redshifts. Using only the observed SFHs as input, the ISM velocity dispersion and a mid-plane scattering model fits the observed AVRs of low mass galaxies without fine tuning. Higher mass galaxies above $M_{vir} > 10^{11}$ need a larger contribution from latent dynamical heating processes (for example minor mergers), in excess of the ISM model. Using the SFHs we also find that supernovae feedback does not appear to be a dominant driver of the gas velocity dispersion compared to gravitational instabilities - at least for dispersions $\sigma \gtrsim 25$ km/s. Together our results point to stars being born with a velocity dispersion close to that of the gas at the time of their formation, with latent dynamical heating operating with a galaxy mass-dependent efficiency. These semi-empirical relations may help constrain the efficiency of feedback and its impact on the physics of disk settling in galaxy formation simulations

Compact to extended Lyman-α\alpha emitters in MAGPI: strong blue peak emission at z≳3z\gtrsim3

We report the discovery of three double-peaked Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters (LAEs) exhibiting strong blue peak emission at 2.9 $\lesssim z \lesssim$ 4.8, in the VLT/MUSE data obtained as part of the Middle Ages Galaxy Properties with Integral Field Spectroscopy (MAGPI) survey. These strong blue peak systems provide a unique window into the scattering of Lyman-$\alpha$ photons by neutral hydrogen (HI), suggesting gas inflows along the line-of-sight and low HI column density. Two of them at $z=2.9$ and $z=3.6$ are spatially extended halos with their core regions clearly exhibiting stronger blue peak emissions than the red peak. However, spatial variations in the peak ratio and peak separation are evident over $25\times 26$ kpc ($z=2.9$) and $19\times28$ kpc ($z=3.6$) regions in these extended halos. Notably, these systems do not fall in the regime of Lyman-$\alpha$ blobs or nebulae. To the best of our knowledge, such a Lyman-$\alpha$ halo with a dominant blue core has not been observed previously. In contrast, the LAE at $z\sim4.8$ is a compact system spanning a $9\times9$ kpc region and stands as the highest-redshift strong blue peak emitter ever detected. The peak separation of the bright cores in these three systems ranges from $\Delta_{\mathrm{peak}}\sim370$ to $660$ km/s. The observed overall trend of decreasing peak separation with increasing radius is supposed to be controlled by HI column density and gas covering fraction. Based on various estimations, in contrast to the compact LAE, our halos are found to be good candidates for LyC leakers. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between Lyman-$\alpha$ emission, gas kinematics, and ionising radiation properties, offering valuable insights into the evolution and nature of high-redshift galaxies.Comment: 2 Figures, 1 Table, accepted for A&A Letter

Structural Evolution in Massive Galaxies at z ∼ 2

We present 0.′′2 resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations at 870 μm in a stellar mass-selected sample of 85 massive (M* &gt; 1011 M⊙) star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at z = 1.9-2.6 in the CANDELS/3D-Hubble Space Telescope fields of UDS and GOODS-S. We measure the effective radius of the rest-frame far-infrared (FIR) emission for 62 massive SFGs. They are distributed over wide ranges of FIR size from Re,FIR = 0.4 kpc to Re,FIR = 6 kpc. The effective radius of the FIR emission is smaller by a factor of 2.3-1.0+1.9 than the effective radius of the optical emission and is smaller by a factor of 1.9-1.0+1.9 than the half-mass radius. Taking into account potential extended components, the FIR size would change only by ∼10%. By combining the spatial distributions of the FIR and optical emission, we investigate how galaxies change the effective radius of the optical emission and the stellar mass within a radius of 1 kpc, M1kpc. The compact starburst puts most of the massive SFGs on the mass-size relation for quiescent galaxies (QGs) at z ∼ 2 within 300 Myr if the current star formation activity and its spatial distribution are maintained. We also find that within 300 Myr, ∼38% of massive SFGs can reach the central mass of M1kpc = 1010.5 M ⊙, which is around the boundary between massive SFGs and QGs. These results suggest an outside-in transformation scenario in which a dense core is formed at the center of a more extended disk, likely via dissipative in-disk inflows. Synchronized observations at ALMA 870 μm and James Webb Space Telescope 3-4 μm will explicitly verify this scenario

Cosmological evolution of metallicity correlation functions from the Auriga simulations

We study the cosmological evolution of the two-point correlation functions of galactic gas-phase metal distributions using the 28 simulated galaxies from the Auriga Project. Using mock observations of the z = 0 snapshots to mimic our past work, we show that the correlation functions of the simulated mock observations are well matched to the correlation functions measured from local galaxy surv e ys. This comparison suggests that the simulations capture the processes important for determining metal correlation lengths, the key parameter in metallicity correlation functions. We investigate the evolution of metallicity correlations o v er cosmic time using the true simulation data, showing that individual galaxies undergo no significant systematic evolution in their metal correlation functions from z ∼3 to today. In addition, the fluctuations in metal correlation length are correlated with but lag ahead fluctuations in star formation rate. This suggests that re-arrangement of metals within galaxies occurs at a higher cadence than star formation activity, and is more sensitive to the changes of environment, such as g alaxy mergers, g as inflo ws/outflo ws, and fly-bys

From Nuclear to Circumgalactic:Zooming in on AGN-driven Outflows at z ∼ 2.2 with SINFONI

We use deep adaptive optics assisted integral field spectroscopy from SINFONI on the VLT to study the spatially resolved properties of ionized gas outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) in three galaxies at z~2.2 -- K20-ID5, COS4-11337 and J0901+1814. These systems probe AGN feedback from nuclear to circumgalactic scales, and provide unique insights into the different mechanisms by which AGN-driven outflows interact with their host galaxies. K20-ID5 and COS4-11337 are compact star forming galaxies with powerful $\sim$1500 km s$^{-1}$ AGN-driven outflows that dominate their nuclear H$\alpha$ emission. The outflows do not appear to have any impact on the instantaneous star formation activity of the host galaxies, but they carry a significant amount of kinetic energy which could heat the halo gas and potentially lead to a reduction in the rate of cold gas accretion onto the galaxies. The outflow from COS4-11337 is propagating directly towards its companion galaxy COS4-11363, at a projected separation of 5.4 kpc. COS4-11363 shows signs of shock excitation and recent truncation of star formation activity, which could plausibly have been induced by the outflow from COS4-11337. J0901+1814 is gravitationally lensed, giving us a unique view of a compact (R = 470 $\pm$ 70 pc), relatively low velocity ($\sim$650 km s$^{-1}$) AGN-driven outflow. J0901+1814 has a similar AGN luminosity to COS4-11337, suggesting that the difference in outflow properties is not related to the current AGN luminosity, and may instead reflect a difference in the evolutionary stage of the outflow and/or the coupling efficiency between the AGN ionizing radiation field and the gas in the nuclear regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Main text 23 pages, 15 figures and 4 tables, plus Appendix (3 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

From Nuclear to Circumgalactic: Zooming in on AGN-driven Outflows at z ∼ 2.2 with SINFONI

We use deep adaptive optics assisted integral field spectroscopy from SINFONI on the VLT to study the spatially resolved properties of ionized gas outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in three galaxies at z ∼ 2.2-K20-ID5, COS4-11337, and J0901 + 1814. These systems probe AGN feedback from nuclear to circumgalactic scales and provide unique insights into the different mechanisms by which AGN-driven outflows interact with their host galaxies. K20-ID5 and COS4-11337 are compact star-forming galaxies with powerful ∼1500 km s-1 AGN-driven outflows that dominate their nuclear Hα emission. The outflows do not appear to have any impact on the instantaneous star formation activity of the host galaxies, but they carry a significant amount of kinetic energy that could heat the halo gas and potentially lead to a reduction in the rate of cold gas accretion onto the galaxies. The outflow from COS4-11337 is propagating directly toward its companion galaxy COS4-11363, at a projected separation of 5.4 kpc. COS4-11363 shows signs of shock excitation and recent truncation of star formation activity, which could plausibly have been induced by the outflow from COS4-11337. J0901 + 1814 is gravitationally lensed, giving us a unique view of a compact (R = 470 ± 70 pc), relatively low-velocity (∼650 km s-1) AGN-driven outflow. J0901 + 1814 has a similar AGN luminosity to COS4-11337, suggesting that the difference in outflow properties is not related to the current AGN luminosity and may instead reflect a difference in the evolutionary stage of the outflow and/or the coupling efficiency between the AGN ionizing radiation field and the gas in the nuclear regions

The KMOS3D Survey: Data Release and Final Survey Paper

We present the completed KMOS3D survey, an integral field spectroscopic survey of 739 galaxies at 0.6 &lt; z &lt; 2.7 using the K-band Multi Object Spectrograph (KMOS) at the Very Large Telescope. The KMOS3D survey provides a population-wide census of kinematics, star formation, outflows, and nebular gas conditions both on and off the star-forming galaxy main sequence through the spatially resolved and integrated properties of Hα, [N ii], and [S ii] emission lines. We detect Hα emission for 91% of galaxies on the main sequence of star formation and 79% overall. The depth of the survey has allowed us to detect galaxies with star formation rates below 1 M o yr-1, as well as to resolve 81% of detected galaxies with ≥3 resolution elements along the kinematic major axis. The detection fraction of Hα is a strong function of both color and offset from the main sequence, with the detected and nondetected samples exhibiting different spectral energy distribution shapes. Comparison of Hα and UV+IR star formation rates reveal that dust attenuation corrections may be underestimated by 0.5 dex at the highest masses (). We confirm our first year results of a high rotation-dominated fraction (monotonic velocity gradient and v rot/ σ0&gt;sqrt3.36) of 77% for the full KMOS3D sample. The rotation-dominated fraction is a function of both stellar mass and redshift, with the strongest evolution measured over the redshift range of the survey for galaxies with . With this paper, we include a final data release of all 739 observed objects (http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ir/KMOS3D)