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The innate origin of radial and vertical gradients in a simulated galaxy disc
Astrophysics of Galaxies · Submitted 4 Sep 2017
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim Such radial and vertical trends might just reflect the evolving properties of the parent gaseous disc, and are not necessarily the result of secular evolutionary processes.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
We examine the origin of radial and vertical gradients in the age/metallicity of the stellar component of a galaxy disc formed in the APOSTLE cosmological hydrody- namical simulations. Some of these gradients resemble those in the Milky Way, where they have sometimes been interpreted as due to internal evolution, such as scattering off giant molecular clouds, radial migration driven by spiral patterns, or orbital reso- nances with a bar. Secular processes play a minor role in the simulated galaxy, which lacks strong spiral or bar patterns, and where such gradients arise as a result of the gradual enrichment of a gaseous disc that is born thick but thins as it turns into stars and settles into centrifugal equilibrium. The settling is controlled by the feedback of young stars; which links the star formation, enrichment, and equilibration timescales, inducing radial and vertical gradients in the gaseous disc and its descendent stars. The kinematics of coeval stars evolve little after birth and provide a faithful snapshot of the gaseous disc structure at the time of their formation. In this interpretation, the age-velocity dispersion relation would reflect the gradual thinning of the disc rather than the importance of secular orbit scattering; the outward flaring of stars would result from the gas disc flare rather than from radial migration; and vertical gradients would arise because the gas disc gradually thinned as it enriched. Such radial and vertical trends might just reflect the evolving properties of the parent gaseous disc, and are not necessarily the result of secular evolutionary processes.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | We examine the origin of radial and vertical gradients in the age/metallicity of the stellar component of a galaxy disc formed in the APOSTLE cosmological hydrody- namical simulations. | contribution 0.97 | 0.93 | 0.05 | asserted 0.59 |
| s1 | Some of these gradients resemble those in the Milky Way, where they have sometimes been interpreted as due to internal evolution, such as scattering off giant molecular clouds, radial migration driven by spiral patterns, or orbital reso- nances with a bar. | background 0.99 | 0.10 | 0.03 | hedged possibility 0.65 |
| s2 | Secular processes play a minor role in the simulated galaxy, which lacks strong spiral or bar patterns, and where such gradients arise as a result of the gradual enrichment of a gaseous disc that is born thick but thins as it turns into stars and settles into centrifugal equilibrium. | result 0.57 | 0.88 | 0.53 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | The settling is controlled by the feedback of young stars; which links the star formation, enrichment, and equilibration timescales, inducing radial and vertical gradients in the gaseous disc and its descendent stars. | interpretation 0.79 | 0.78 | 0.28 | asserted 1.00 |
| s4 | The kinematics of coeval stars evolve little after birth and provide a faithful snapshot of the gaseous disc structure at the time of their formation. | result 0.52 | 0.72 | 0.07 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | In this interpretation, the age-velocity dispersion relation would reflect the gradual thinning of the disc rather than the importance of secular orbit scattering; the outward flaring of stars would result from the gas disc flare rather than from radial migration; and vertical gradients would arise because the gas disc gradually thinned as it enriched. | interpretation 1.00 | 0.54 | 0.51 | asserted 0.55 |
| s6 | Such radial and vertical trends might just reflect the evolving properties of the parent gaseous disc, and are not necessarily the result of secular evolutionary processes. | interpretation 0.99 | 0.45 | 0.79 | speculative 0.76 |
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The paper
Original abstract
We examine the origin of radial and vertical gradients in the age/metallicity of the stellar component of a galaxy disc formed in the APOSTLE cosmological hydrody- namical simulations. Some of these gradients resemble those in the Milky Way, where they have sometimes been interpreted as due to internal evolution, such as scattering off giant molecular clouds, radial migration driven by spiral patterns, or orbital reso- nances with a bar. Secular processes play a minor role in the simulated galaxy, which lacks strong spiral or bar patterns, and where such gradients arise as a result of the gradual enrichment of a gaseous disc that is born thick but thins as it turns into stars and settles into centrifugal equilibrium. The settling is controlled by the feedback of young stars; which links the star formation, enrichment, and equilibration timescales, inducing radial and vertical gradients in the gaseous disc and its descendent stars. The kinematics of coeval stars evolve little after birth and provide a faithful snapshot of the gaseous disc structure at the time of their formation. In this interpretation, the age-velocity dispersion relation would reflect the gradual thinning of the disc rather than the importance of secular orbit scattering; the outward flaring of stars would result from the gas disc flare rather than from radial migration; and vertical gradients would arise because the gas disc gradually thinned as it enriched. Such radial and vertical trends might just reflect the evolving properties of the parent gaseous disc, and are not necessarily the result of secular evolutionary processes.
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How the literature uses it
6 arXiv papers cite this in 9 sentences
Papers citing it · 7 sentences without a confident label
Cites it as background 2 papers
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In recent years, numerical simulations have improved sufficiently to study the formation of thin and thick discs [ref] .
Origin of chemically distinct discs in the Auriga cosmological simulations · Introduction · 0.96
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The notion that the thick disc was formed from the vertical heating of a thinner progenitor disc competes with the so-called “upside-down” formation scenario [ref] according to which the early gaseous disc was thick as a result of strong stellar feedback [ref] , and slowly settled as the star formation waned to form the thinner components of the disc.
The origin of accreted stellar halo populations in the Milky Way using APOGEE, $\textit{Gaia}$, and the EAGLE simulations · Introduction · 0.89
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