Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies

We present evidence for cosmological gas accretion onto spiral galaxies in the local universe. The accretion is seen through its effects on the dynamics of the extra-planar neutral gas. The accretion rates that we estimate for two nearby spiral galaxies are of the order of their star formation rates...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fraternali, F, Binney, J
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2008
_version_ 1826257954350825472
author Fraternali, F
Binney, J
author_facet Fraternali, F
Binney, J
author_sort Fraternali, F
collection OXFORD
description We present evidence for cosmological gas accretion onto spiral galaxies in the local universe. The accretion is seen through its effects on the dynamics of the extra-planar neutral gas. The accretion rates that we estimate for two nearby spiral galaxies are of the order of their star formation rates. Our model shows that most of the extra-planar gas is produced by supernova feedback (galactic fountain) and only 10-20 % comes from accretion. The accreting material must have low specific angular momentum about the disc's spin axis, although the magnitude of the specific angular-momentum vector can be higher. We also explore the effects of a hot corona on the dynamics of the extra-planar gas and find that it is unlikely to be responsible for the observed kinematical pattern and the source of accreted gas. However, the interaction with the fountain flow should profoundly affect the hydrodynamics of the corona.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T18:26:22Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:081c0b7c-9ca8-4382-84bd-573e380dbd5c
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-06T18:26:22Z
publishDate 2008
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:081c0b7c-9ca8-4382-84bd-573e380dbd5c2022-03-26T09:11:12ZAccretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxiesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:081c0b7c-9ca8-4382-84bd-573e380dbd5cEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Fraternali, FBinney, JWe present evidence for cosmological gas accretion onto spiral galaxies in the local universe. The accretion is seen through its effects on the dynamics of the extra-planar neutral gas. The accretion rates that we estimate for two nearby spiral galaxies are of the order of their star formation rates. Our model shows that most of the extra-planar gas is produced by supernova feedback (galactic fountain) and only 10-20 % comes from accretion. The accreting material must have low specific angular momentum about the disc's spin axis, although the magnitude of the specific angular-momentum vector can be higher. We also explore the effects of a hot corona on the dynamics of the extra-planar gas and find that it is unlikely to be responsible for the observed kinematical pattern and the source of accreted gas. However, the interaction with the fountain flow should profoundly affect the hydrodynamics of the corona.
spellingShingle Fraternali, F
Binney, J
Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title_full Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title_fullStr Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title_full_unstemmed Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title_short Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
title_sort accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies
work_keys_str_mv AT fraternalif accretionofgasontonearbyspiralgalaxies
AT binneyj accretionofgasontonearbyspiralgalaxies