arXiv subjects

Frederic Bournaud

Publications and source records attributed to Frederic Bournaud.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Pearls on a string: Dark and bright galaxies on a strikingly straight and narrow filament

We identify a chain of galaxies along an almost straight line in the nearby Universe with a projected length of ~5 Mpc. The galaxies are distributed within projected distances of only 7-105 kpc from the axis of the identified filament. They have redshifts in a very small range of z=0.0361-0.0370 so that their radial velocities are consistent with galaxy proper motions. The filament galaxies are mainly star-forming and have stellar masses in a range of $\rm 10^{9.1}-10^{10.7}\,M_{\odot}$. We search for systems with similar geometrical properties in the full-sky mock galaxy catalogue of the MillenniumTNG simulations and find that although such straight filaments are unusual and rare, they are predicted by $\Lambda$CDM simulations (4% incidence). We study the cold HI gas in a 1.3 Mpc section of the filament through HI-21cm emission line observations and detect eleven HI sources, many more than expected from the HI mass function in a similar volume. They have HI masses $\rm 10^{8.5}-10^{9.5}\,M_{\odot}$ and are mostly within ~120 kpc projected distance from the filament axis. None of these HI sources has a confirmed optical counterpart. Their darkness together with their large HI-21cm line-widths indicate that they contain gas that might not yet be virialized. These clouds must be marking the peaks of the dark matter and HI distributions over large scales within the filament. The presence of such gas clouds around the filament spines is predicted by simulations, but this is the first time that the existence of such clouds in a filament is observationally confirmed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

On the origin of compressive turbulence in protoclumps in high redshift disks

The giant, star forming clumps in gas-rich, high redshift disks are commonly assumed to form due to gravitational instabilities, in which protoclumps have a Toomre-$Q$ parameter less than unity. However, some cosmological simulations show that clumps can form in regions where $Q\gg1$. In these simulations, there is an excess of compressive modes of turbulence that lead to gravitational collapse of regions that were not supposed to gravitationally collapse, according to linear theory. In contrast, sites of clump formation in isolated simulations do not show this excess, hinting that the origin may be external. We explore two external mechanisms that can induce compressive modes of disk turbulence in protoclumps, namely, compressive tides exerted by the cosmological environment and the direct driving by inflowing streams. We correlate the local strength of compressive tides and the amount of fresh stream material with protoclump regions in zoom-in cosmological simulations. The local strength of compressive tides is derived from the tidal tensor. The local strength of incoming streams is derived from the fractional presence of the stream compared to the average. We find that the tidal field in protoclumps tends to be over-compressive while random patches in the disk show diverging tides. In particular, in $25\%$ of the protoclumps, the tidal field is fully compressive, while no random patch resides in regions of fully compressive tides. In addition, protoclumps tend to reside in regions where the fraction of incoming stream mass is 2-10 times larger than the average at the same galactocentric radius. Both compressive tides and inflowing streams are correlated with the protoclumps and can thus serve as the drivers of excessive compressive turbulence that can initiate clump formation. This constitutes a new, non-linear mode of violent disk instabilities in high-$z$ galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Formation of Giant Clumps in High-$z$ Disc Galaxies by Compressive Turbulence

We address the formation of giant clumps in violently unstable gas-rich disc galaxies at cosmic noon. While these are commonly thought to originate from gravitational Toomre instability, cosmological simulations have indicated that clumps form even in regions where the Toomre $Q$ parameter is well above unity, which should be stable according to linear Toomre theory (Inoue et al., 2016). Examining one of these cosmological simulations, we find that it exhibits an excess in compressive modes of turbulence with converging motions. The energy in converging motions within proto-clump regions is $\sim 70\%$ of the total turbulent energy, compared to $\sim 17\%$ expected in equipartition. When averaged over the whole disc, $\sim 32\%$ of the turbulent energy is in converging motions, with a further $\sim 8\%$ in diverging motions. Thus, a total of $\sim 40\%$ of the turbulent energy is in compressive modes, with the rest in solenoidal modes, compared to the $(1/3)-(2/3)$ division expected in equipartition. By contrast, we find that in an isolated-disc simulation with similar properties, resembling high-$z$ star-forming galaxies, the energy in the different turbulence modes are in equipartition, both in proto-clump regions and over the whole disc. We conclude that the origin of the excessive converging motions in proto-clump regions is external to the disc, and propose several mechanisms that can induce them. This is an additional mechanism for clump formation, complementary to and possibly preceding gravitational instability.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

JWST/CEERS sheds light on dusty star-forming galaxies: forming bulges, lopsidedness and outside-in quenching at cosmic noon

We investigate the morphology and resolved physical properties of a sample of 22 IR-selected DSFG at cosmic noon using the JWST/NIRCam images obtained in the EGS field for the CEERS survey. The resolution of the NIRCam images allowed to spatially resolve these galaxies up to 4.4um and identify their bulge even when extinguished by dust. The goal of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the formation and evolution of FIR-bright galaxies by spatially resolving their properties using JWST in order to look through the dust and bridge the gap between the compact FIR sources and the larger optical SFG. Based on RGB images from the NIRCam filters, we divided each galaxy into several uniformly colored regions, fitted their respective SEDs, and measured physical properties. After classifying each region as SF or quiescent, we assigned galaxies to three classes, depending on whether active SF is located in the core, in the disk or in both. We find (i) that galaxies at a higher z tend to have a fragmented disk with a low core mass fraction. They are at an early stage of bulge formation. When moving toward a lower z, the core mass fraction increases, and the bulge growth is associated with a stabilization of the disk: the NIRCam data clearly point toward bulge formation in preexisting disks. (ii) Lopsidedness is a common feature of DSFGs. It could have a major impact on their evolution; (iii) 23% of galaxies have a SF core embedded in a quiescent disk. They seem to be undergoing outside-in quenching, often facilitated by their strong lopsidedness inducing instabilities. (iv) We show that half of our galaxies with SF concentrated in their core are good SMG counterpart candidates, demonstrating that compact SMGs are usually surrounded by a larger, less obscured disk. (v) Finally, we found surprising evidence for clump-like substructures being quiescent or residing in quiescent regions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The hidden side of cosmic star formation at z > 3: Bridging optically-dark and Lyman break galaxies with GOODS-ALMA

Our current understanding of the cosmic star formation history at z>3 is primarily based on UV-selected galaxies (i.e., LBGs). Recent studies of H-dropouts have revealed that we may be missing a large proportion of star formation that is taking place in massive galaxies at z>3. In this work, we extend the H-dropout criterion to lower masses to select optically dark/faint galaxies (OFGs), in order to complete the census between LBGs and H-dropouts. Our criterion (H> 26.5 mag & [4.5] < 25 mag) combined with a de-blending technique is designed to select not only extremely dust-obscured massive galaxies but also normal star-forming galaxies. In total, we identified 27 OFGs at z_phot > 3 (z_med=4.1) in the GOODS-ALMA field, covering a wide distribution of stellar masses with log($M_{\star}$/$M_{\odot}$) = 9.4-11.1. We find that up to 75% of the OFGs with log($M_{\star}$/$M_{\odot}$) = 9.5-10.5 were neglected by previous LBGs and H-dropout selection techniques. After performing stacking analyses, the OFGs exhibit shorter gas depletion timescales, slightly lower gas fractions, and lower dust temperatures than typical star-forming galaxies. Their SFR_tot (SFR_ IR+SFR_UV) is much larger than SFR_UVcorr (corrected for dust extinction), with SFR_tot/SFR_UVcorr = $8\pm1$, suggesting the presence of hidden dust regions in the OFGs that absorb all UV photons. The average dust size measured by a circular Gaussian model fit is R_e(1.13 mm)=1.01$\pm$0.05 kpc. We find that the cosmic SFRD at z>3 contributed by massive OFGs is at least two orders of magnitude higher than the one contributed by equivalently massive LBGs. Finally, we calculate the combined contribution of OFGs and LBGs to the cosmic SFRD at z=4-5 to be 4 $\times$ 10$^{-2}$ $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-3}$, which is about 0.15 dex (43%) higher than the SFRD derived from UV-selected samples alone at the same redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Bulge formation inside quiescent lopsided stellar disks: connecting accretion, star formation and morphological transformation in a z ~ 3 galaxy group

We present well-resolved near-IR and sub-mm analysis of the three highly star-forming massive ($>10^{11}\,\rm M_{\odot}$) galaxies within the core of the RO-1001 galaxy group at $\rm z=2.91$. Each of them displays kpc-scale compact star-bursting cores with properties consistent with forming galaxy bulges, embedded at the center of extended, massive stellar disks. Surprisingly, the stellar disks are unambiguously both quiescent, and severely lopsided. Therefore, `outside-in' quenching is ongoing in the three group galaxies. We propose an overall scenario in which the strong mass lopsidedness in the disks (ranging from factors of 1.6 to $>$3), likely generated under the effects of accreted gas and clumps, is responsible for their star-formation suppression, while funnelling gas into the nuclei and thus creating the central starbursts. The lopsided side of the disks marks the location of accretion streams impact, with additional matter components (dust and stars) detected in their close proximity directly tracing the inflow direction. The interaction with the accreted clumps, which can be regarded as minor-mergers, leads the major axes of the three galaxies to be closely aligned with the outer Lyman-$\alpha$-emitting feeding filaments. These results provide the first observational evidence of the impact of cold accretion streams on the formation and evolution of the galaxies they feed. In the current phase, this is taking the form of the rapid buildup of bulges under the effects of accretion, while still preserving massive quiescent and lopsided stellar disks at least until encountering a violent major-merger.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Starbursts with suppressed velocity dispersion revealed in a forming cluster at z=2.51

One of the most prominent features of galaxy clusters is the presence of a dominant population of massive ellipticals in their cores. Stellar archaeology suggests that these gigantic beasts assembled most of their stars in the early Universe via starbursts. However, the role of dense environments and their detailed physical mechanisms in triggering starburst activities remain unknown. Here we report spatially resolved Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the CO $J= 3-2$ emission line, with a resolution of about 2.5 kiloparsecs, toward a forming galaxy cluster core with starburst galaxies at $z=2.51$. In contrast to starburst galaxies in the field often associated with galaxy mergers or highly turbulent gaseous disks, our observations show that the two starbursts in the cluster exhibit dynamically cold (rotation-dominated) gas-rich disks. Their gas disks have extremely low velocity dispersion ($\sigma_{\mathrm{0}} \sim 20-30$ km s$^{-1}$), which is three times lower than their field counterparts at similar redshifts. The high gas fraction and suppressed velocity dispersion yield gravitationally unstable gas disks, which enables highly efficient star formation. The suppressed velocity dispersion, likely induced by the accretion of corotating and coplanar cold gas, might serve as an essential avenue to trigger starbursts in massive halos at high redshifts.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Clump Survival and Migration in VDI Galaxies: an Analytic Model versus Simulations and Observations

We address the nature of the giant clumps in high-z galaxies that undergo Violent Disc Instability, attempting to distinguish between long-lived clumps that migrate inward and short-lived clumps that disrupt by feedback. We study the evolution of clumps as they migrate through the disc using an analytic model tested by simulations and confront theory with CANDELS observations. The clump ``bathtub" model, which considers gas and stellar gain and loss, is characterized by four parameters: the accretion efficiency, the star-formation-rate (SFR) efficiency, and the outflow mass-loading factors for gas and stars. The relevant timescales are all comparable to the migration time, two-three orbital times. A clump differs from a galaxy by the internal dependence of the accretion rate on the varying clump mass. The analytic solution, involving exponential growing and decaying modes, reveals a main evolution phase during the migration, where the SFR and gas mass are constant and the stellar mass is rising linearly with time. This makes the inverse of the specific SFR an observable proxy for clump age. Later, the masses and SFR approach an exponential growth with a constant specific SFR, but this phase is hypothetical as the clump disappears in the galaxy center. The model matches simulations with different, moderate feedback, both in isolated and cosmological settings. The observed clumps agree with our theoretical predictions, indicating that the massive clumps are long-lived and migrating. A non-trivial challenge is to model feedback that is non-disruptive in massive clumps but suppresses SFR to match the galactic stellar-to-halo mass ratio.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Sub-millimetre compactness as a critical dimension to understand the Main Sequence of star-forming galaxies

We study the interstellar medium (ISM) properties as a function of the molecular gas size for 77 infrared-selected galaxies at $z \sim 1.3$. Molecular gas sizes are measured on ALMA images that combine CO(2-1), CO(5-4) and underlying continuum observations, and include CO(4-3), CO(7-6)+[CI]($^3 P_2-^3P_1$), [CI]($^3 P_1-^3P_0$) observations for a subset of the sample. The $\gtrsim 46 \%$ of our galaxies have a compact molecular gas reservoir, and lie below the optical disks mass-size relation. Compact galaxies on and above the main sequence have higher CO excitation and star formation efficiency than galaxies with extended molecular gas reservoirs, as traced by CO(5-4)/CO(2-1) and CO(2-1)/$L_{\rm IR, SF}$ ratios. Average CO+[CI] spectral line energy distributions indicate higher excitation in compacts relative to extended sources. Using CO(2-1) and dust masses as molecular gas mass tracers, and conversion factors tailored to their ISM conditions, we measure lower gas fractions in compact main-sequence galaxies compared to extended sources. We suggest that the sub-millimetre compactness, defined as the ratio between the molecular gas and the stellar size, is an unavoidable information to be used with the main sequence offset to describe the ISM properties of galaxies, at least above $M_{\star} \geqslant 10^{10.6}$ M$_{\odot}$, where our observations fully probe the main sequence scatter. Our results are consistent with mergers driving the gas in the nuclear regions, enhancing the CO excitation and star formation efficiency. Compact main-sequence galaxies are consistent with being an early post-starburst population following a merger-driven starburst episode, stressing the important role of mergers in the evolution of massive galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

A titanic interstellar medium ejection from a massive starburst galaxy at redshift 1.4

Feedback-driven winds from star formation or active galactic nuclei might be a relevant channel for the abrupt quenching star formation in massive galaxies. However, both observations and simulations support the idea that these processes are non-conflictingly co-evolving and self-regulating. Furthermore, evidence of disruptive events that are capable of fast quenching is rare, and constraints on their statistical prevalence are lacking. Here we present a massive starburst galaxy at z=1.4 which is ejecting $46 \pm 13$\% of its molecular gas mass at a startling rate of $\gtrsim 10,000$ M$_{\odot}{\rm yr}^{-1}$. A broad component that is red-shifted from the galaxy emission is detected in four (low- and high-J) CO and [CI] transitions and in the ionized phase, which ensures a robust estimate of the expelled gas mass. The implied statistics suggest that similar events are potentially a major star-formation quenching channel. However, our observations provide compelling evidence that this is not a feedback-driven wind, but rather material from a merger that has been probably tidally ejected. This finding challenges some literature studies in which the role of feedback-driven winds might be overstated.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

CO emission in distant galaxies on and above the main sequence

We present the detection of multiple CO line transitions with ALMA in a few tens of infrared-selected galaxies on and above the main sequence at z=1.1-1.7. We reliably detected the emission of CO(5-4), CO(2-1), and CO(7-6)+[CI](2-1) in 50, 33, and 13 galaxies, respectively, and we complemented this information with available CO(4-3) and [CI](1-0) fluxes for part of the sample, and modeling of the optical-to-mm SEDs. We retrieve a quasi-linear relation between LIR and CO(5-4) or CO(7-6) for main-sequence galaxies and starbursts, corroborating the hypothesis that these transitions can be used as SFR tracers. We find the CO excitation to steadily increase as a function of the star formation efficiency, the mean intensity of the radiation field warming the dust, the surface density of SFR, and, less distinctly, with the distance from the main sequence. This adds to the tentative evidence for higher excitation of the CO+[CI] SLED of starbursts relative to that for main-sequence objects, where the dust opacities play a minor role in shaping the high-J CO transitions in our sample. However, the distinction between the average SLED of upper main-sequence and starburst galaxies is blurred, driven by a wide variety of intrinsic shapes. LVG radiative transfer modeling demonstrates the existence of a highly excited component that elevates the CO SLED of high-redshift main-sequence and starbursting galaxies above the typical values observed in the disk of the Milky Way. This excited component is dense and it encloses ~50% of the total molecular gas mass in main-sequence objects. We interpret the observed trends involving the CO excitation as mainly driven by a combination of large SFRs and compact sizes, naturally connected with enhanced dense molecular gas fractions and higher dust and gas temperatures, due to increasing UV radiation fields, cosmic ray rates, and dust/gas coupling. [Abridged]

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Outflow from Outer-arm Starburst in a Grazing Collision between Galaxies

New ALMA CO, HCO+, and 100 GHz continuum observations and Gemini NIFS K-band spectra are combined with previous radio to X-ray data to study Feature i, a highly luminous starburst clump on an outer arm of the interacting galaxy NGC 2207. This clump has an optically-opaque dust cone extending out of its 170 pc core. The measured CO accounts for the dark cone extinction if almost all the gas and dust there is in front of the star clusters. An associated approaching CO outflow has v_z ~ 16 km/s, an estimated molecular mass 8 x 10^6 Msun, and rises to heights ~ 0.9 kpc. A receding CO outflow on the far side with v_z ~ 28 km/s is less extensive. The observed star formation in the core over 10 Myr can supply the dark cone kinetic energy via supernovae and stellar winds. Other signs of intense activity are variable radio continuum suggesting an embedded supernova or other outburst, X-ray emission, and Br-gamma and He I lines with 82 km/s line widths. According to previous models, the retrograde encounter suffered by NGC 2207 caused loss of angular momentum. This compressed its outer disk. We suggest that the resulting inward crashing gas stream hit a massive HI cloud as it was being compressed by a spiral density wave and triggered the observed starburst.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

The properties of the interstellar medium of galaxies across time as traced by the neutral atomic carbon [CI]

We report ALMA observations of the neutral atomic carbon transitions [CI] and multiple CO lines in a sample of $\sim30$ main sequence galaxies at $z\sim1$, including novel information on [CI](2-1) and CO(7-6) for 7 of such normal objects. We complement our observations with a collection of $>200$ galaxies with coverage of similar transitions, spanning the $z=0-4$ redshift interval and a variety of ambient conditions from local to high-redshift starbursts. We find systematic variations in the [CI]/IR and [CI]/high-$J$ ($J=7$) CO luminosity ratios among the various samples. We interpret these differences as increased dense molecular gas fractions and star formation efficiencies in the strongest high-redshift starbursts with respect to normal main sequence galaxies. We further report constant $L'_{\rm [CI]2-1}$/$L'_{\rm [CI]1-0}$ ratios across the galaxy populations and redshifts, suggesting that gas temperatures $T_{\rm exc}$ traced by [CI] do not strongly vary. We find only a mild correlation with $T_{\rm dust}$ and that, generally, $T_{\rm exc} \lesssim T_{\rm dust}$. We fit the line ratios with classical PDR models, retrieving consistently larger densities and intensities of the UV radiation fields in submm galaxies than in main sequence and local objects. However, these simple models fall short in representing the complexity of a multiphase interstellar medium and should be treated with caution. Finally, we compare our observations with the Santa Cruz semi-analytical model of galaxy evolution, recently extended to simulate submm emission. While we confirm the success in reproducing the CO lines, we find systematically larger [CI] luminosities at fixed IR luminosity than predicted theoretically. This highlights the necessity of improving our understanding of the mechanisms regulating the [CI] emission on galactic scales. We release our data compilation to the community.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Massive star cluster formation and evolution in tidal dwarf galaxies

The formation of globular clusters remains an open debate. Dwarf starburst galaxies are efficient at forming young massive clusters with similar masses as globular clusters and may hold the key to understanding their formation. We study star cluster formation in a tidal debris - including the vicinity of three tidal dwarf galaxies - in a massive gas dominated collisional ring around NGC~5291. These dwarfs have physical parameters which differ significantly from local starbursting dwarfs. They are gas-rich, highly turbulent, have a gas metallicity already enriched up to half-solar, and are expected to be free of dark matter. The aim is to study massive star cluster formation in this as yet unexplored type of environment. We use imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope using broadband filters covering the wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. We determine the masses and ages of the cluster candidates by using the spectral energy distribution-fitting code CIGALE, carefully considering age-extinction degeneracy effects on the estimation of the physical parameters. We find that the tidal dwarf galaxies in the ring of NGC 5291 are forming star clusters with an average efficiency of $\sim40\%$, comparable to blue compact dwarf galaxies. We also find massive star clusters for which the photometry suggests that they were formed at the very birth of the tidal dwarf galaxies and have survived for several hundred million years. Therefore our study shows that extended tidal dwarf galaxies and compact clusters may be formed simultaneously. In the specific case observed here, the young star clusters are not massive enough to survive for a Hubble time. However one may speculate that similar objects at higher redshift, with higher star formation rate, might form some of the long lived globular clusters.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

The Global Star-Formation Law by Supernova Feedback

We address a simple model where the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation between the macroscopic densities of star-formation rate (SFR, $\rho_{\rm sfr}$) and gas ($n$) in galactic discs emerges from self-regulation of the SFR via supernova feedback. It arises from the physics of supernova bubbles, insensitive to the microscopic SFR recipe and not explicitly dependent on gravity. The key is that the filling factor of SFR-suppressed supernova bubbles self-regulates to a constant, $f\sim 0.5$. Expressing the bubble fading radius and time in terms of $n$, the filling factor is $f \propto S\,n^{-s}$ with $s\sim 1.5$, where $S$ is the supernova rate density. A constant $f$ thus refers to $\rho_{\rm sfr} \propto n^{1.5}$, with a density-independent SFR efficiency per free-fall time $\sim 0.01$. The self-regulation to $f \sim 0.5$ and the convergence to a KS relation independent of the local SFR recipe are demonstrated in cosmological and isolated-galaxy simulations using different codes and recipes. In parallel, the spherical analysis of bubble evolution is generalized to clustered supernovae, analytically and via simulations, yielding $s \simeq 1.5 \pm 0.5$. An analysis of photo-ionized bubbles about pre-supernova stars yields a range of KS slopes but the KS relation is dominated by the supernova bubbles. Superbubble blowouts may lead to an alternative self-regulation by outflows and recycling. While the model is over-simplified, its simplicity and validity in the simulations may argue that it captures the origin of the KS relation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

A diversity of starburst-triggering mechanisms in interacting galaxies and their signatures in CO emission

The physical origin of enhanced star formation activity in interacting galaxies remains an open question. Knowing whether starbursts are triggered by an increase of the quantity of dense gas or an increase of the star formation efficiency would improve our understanding of galaxy evolution and allow to transpose the results obtained in the local Universe to high redshift galaxies. In this paper, we analyze a parsec-resolution simulation of an Antennae-like model of interacting galaxies. We find that the interplay of physical processes has complex and important variations in time and space, through different combinations of mechanisms like tides, shear and turbulence. These can have similar imprints on observables like depletion time and CO emission. The densest gas only constitutes the tail of the density distribution of some clouds, but exists in large excess in others. The super-linearity of the star formation rate dependence on gas density implies that this excess translates into a reduction of depletion times, and thus leads to a deviation from the classical star formation regime, visible up to galactic scales. These clouds are found in all parts of the galaxies, but their number density varies from one region to the next, due to different cloud assembly mechanisms. Therefore, the dependence of cloud and star formation-related quantities (like CO flux and depletion time) on the scale at which they are measured also varies across the galaxies. We find that the $α_{\rm CO}$ conversion factor between the CO luminosity and molecular gas mass has even stronger spatial than temporal variations in a system like the Antennae. These results raise a number of cautionary notes for the interpretation of observations of unresolved star-forming regions, but also predict that the diversity of environments for star formation will be better captured by the future generations of instruments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

History and destiny of an emerging early-type galaxy: New IFU insights on the major-merger remnant NGC7252

NGC7252, which is one of the nearest major-merger galaxy remnants, is an ideal laboratory to study the processes inherent to the transformation of disc galaxies to ellipticals as observed about ~1Gyr after the collision. We obtained wide-field IFU spectroscopy with the VLT-VIMOS integral-field spectrograph covering the central 50"x50" of NGC7252 to map the stellar and ionised gas kinematics, and the distribution and conditions of the ionised gas, revealing the extent of ongoing star formation and recent star formation history. We find that the inner gas disc is not counter-rotating with respect to the stars and that the stellar kinematics appear complex with a clear indication of a prolate-like rotation component suggesting a polar merger configuration. The ongoing star formation rate is 2.2+-0.6 M_sun/yr and implies a typical depletion time of 2Gyr given the molecular gas content. Furthermore, the spatially-resolved star formation history suggests a slight radial dependence, moving outwards at later times. We confirm a large AGN-ionised gas cloud previously discovered 5kpc south of the nucleus, and find higher ionisation also at the galaxy centre relative to the surrounding gas disc. Although the higher ionisation towards the centre is potentially degenerate within the central star forming ring, it may be associated with a low-luminosity AGN. Although NGC7252 has been classified as post-starburst galaxy at the centre, the elliptical-like major-merger remnant still appears very active. A central kpc-scale gas disc has presumably re-formed quickly within the last 100Myr after final coalescence. The disc features ongoing star formation, implying Gyr long timescale to reach the red sequence through gas consumption alone. While NGC7252 is useful to probe the transformation from discs to ellipticals, it is not well-suited to study the transformation from blue to red at this point.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Starbursts in and out of the star-formation main sequence

We use high-resolution continuum images obtained at 870microns with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to probe the surface density of star-formation in z~2 galaxies and study the different physical properties between galaxies within and above the star-formation main sequence of galaxies. This sample of eight star-forming galaxies at z~2 selected among the most massive Herschel galaxies in the GOODS-South field is supplemented with eleven galaxies from the public data of the 1.3 mm survey of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. ALMA reveals systematically dense concentrations of dusty star-formation close to the center of the stellar component of the galaxies. We identify two different starburst regimes: (i) the classical population of starbursts located above the SFR-M* main sequence, with enhanced gas fractions and short depletion times and (ii) a sub-population of galaxies located within the scatter of the main sequence that experience compact star formation with depletion timescales typical of starbursts of ~150 Myr. In both starburst populations, the far infrared and UV are distributed in distinct regions and dust-corrected star formation rates estimated using UV-optical-NIR data alone underestimate the total star formation rate. Starbursts hidden in the main sequence show instead the lowest gas fractions of our sample and could represent the last stage of star-formation before they become passive. Being Herschel-selected, these main sequence galaxies are located in the high-mass end of the main sequence, hence we do not know whether these "starbursts hidden in the main sequence" also exist below 10^11 Msun. Active galactic nuclei are found to be ubiquitous in these compact starbursts, suggesting that the triggering mechanism also feeds the central black hole or that the active nucleus triggers star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗