The cosmic UV background and the beginning and end of star formation in simulated field dwarf galaxies

Abstract

We use the APOSTLE cosmological simulations to examine the role of the cosmic UV background in regulating star formation (SF) in low-mass LCDM halos. In agreement with earlier work, we find that after reionization SF proceeds mainly in halos whose mass exceeds a redshift-dependent ``critical'' mass, Mcrit, set by the structure of the halos and by the thermal pressure of UV-heated gas. Mcrit increases from ~10^8 Msun at z~10 to Mcrit ~10^9.7 Msun at z=0, roughly following the average mass growth of halos in that mass range. This implies that halos well above or below critical at present have remained so since early times. Halos of luminous dwarfs today were already above-critical and star-forming at high redshift, explaining naturally the ubiquitous presence of ancient stellar populations in dwarfs, regardless of luminosity. The SF history of systems close to the critical boundary is more complex. SF may cease or reignite in dwarfs whose host halo falls below or climbs above the critical boundary, suggesting an attractive explanation for the episodic nature of SF in some dwarfs. Also, some subcritical halos today may have been above critical in the past; these systems should at present make up a sizable population of faint field dwarfs lacking ongoing star formation. Although few such galaxies are currently known, the discovery of this population would provide strong support for our results. Our work indicates that, rather than stellar feedback, it is the ionizing UV background and mass accretion history what regulates SF in the faintest dwarfs.