Angular momentum of $z\sim 1.5$ galaxies and their local analogues with adaptive optics

Abstract

We present stellar specific angular momentum $j_{\ast }$ measurements of two $z\sim 1.5$ galaxies in the KGES sample and 12 DYNAMO $z\sim 0.1$ analogues of high-redshift galaxies. We combine natural seeing integral field spectroscopic data to trace line emission out to high multiples of effective radius $r_e$, with adaptive optics assisted Keck/OSIRIS observations to trace the rapid rise in rotation curve in the inner regions. Our spaxel-wise integration method gives results that are on average within measurement uncertainty of the traditional rotation curve model method. At $z\sim 0$, combining GMOS and OSIRIS datasets improves the measurement uncertainty in $j_{\ast }$ from 13\% (GMOS only) or 16\% (OSIRIS only) to 10\%. At $z\sim 1.5$, systematics allow for at best 20\% uncertainty on $j_{\ast }$. DYNAMO analogues of high-$z$ galaxies have low $j_{\ast }$ for their stellar mass $M_{\ast }$, and low bulge-to-total light ratio $\beta$ for their $j_{\ast }/M_{\ast }$. The high-$z$ galaxy COSMOS 127977 has $j_{\ast }/M_{\ast }$ consistent with normal local disk galaxies, while UDS 78317 is consistent with local analogues. However, our high-resolution OSIRIS data reveal that UDS 78317 may be a merging system. We report a relationship between distance to the $\beta -j_{\ast }/M_{\ast }$ plane and the ratio of velocity dispersion to rotational velocity $\sigma /v_{max}$, where galaxies that deviate more from the plane are more dispersion-dominated due to turbulence. Much of the scatter in $M_{\ast }-j_{\ast }$ that is not explained by variations in the bulge-to-total ratio or evolution with redshift may be driven by increased turbulence due to star formation, or by treating mergers as rotating disks.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 17 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables

References in corpus (19)

• Cosmic Star Formation History
• The SAMI Galaxy Survey: instrument specification and target selection
• The Structure of Classical Bulges And Pseudobulges: The Link Between Pseudobulges And Sersic Index
• CALIFA: a diameter-selected sample for an integral field spectroscopy galaxy survey
• CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey. II. First public data release
• The SAMI Galaxy Survey: the link between angular momentum and optical morphology
• The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Early Data Release
• Integral Field Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Star Forming Galaxies with Laser Guided Adaptive Optics: Evidence for Dispersion-Dominated Kinematics
• High star formation rates as the origin of turbulence in early and modern disk galaxies
• The nature of giant clumps in distant galaxies probed by the anatomy of the Cosmic Snake
• The KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS): the origin of disk turbulence in z~0.9 star-forming galaxies
• The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Cubism and covariance, putting round pegs into square holes
• DYNAMO-HST Survey: Clumps in Nearby Massive Turbulent Disks and the Effects of Clump Clustering on Kiloparsec Scale Measurements of Clumps
• The KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS): rotational velocities and angular momentum of z~0.9 galaxies
• Morpho-kinematics of z~1 galaxies probe the hierarchical scenario
• Extreme gas fractions in clumpy, turbulent disk galaxies at z~0.1
• An OSIRIS study of the gas kinematics in a sample of UV-selected galaxies: Evidence of "Hot and Bothered" starbursts in the local Universe
• The connection between the peaks in velocity dispersion and star-forming clumps of turbulent galaxies
• Gas Content and Kinematics in Clumpy, Turbulent Star-forming Disks

Cited by in corpus (12)

• A massive stellar bulge in a regularly rotating galaxy 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang
• The specific angular momentum of disc galaxies and its connection with galaxy morphology, bar structure and disc gravitational instability
• Fast rotating and low-turbulence discs at $z\simeq 4.5$: Dynamical evidence of their evolution into local early-type galaxies
• A Comparison of the Stellar, CO and Dust-Continuum Emission from Three, Star-Forming HUDF Galaxies at $z\sim 2$
• KURVS: The outer rotation curve shapes and dark matter fractions of $z\sim 1.5$ star-forming galaxies
• From Peculiar Morphologies to Hubble-type Spirals: The relation between galaxy dynamics and morphology in star-forming galaxies at z~1.5
• Stellar angular momentum distribution linked to galaxy morphology
• Multiresolution angular momentum measurements of z~1.5-2 star-forming galaxies
• Kinematic scaling relations of disc galaxies from ionised gas at $z\sim 1$ and their connection with dark matter haloes
• A Shallow Slope for the Stellar Mass--Angular Momentum Relation of Star-Forming Galaxies at $1.5<z<2.5$
• The $H_2$ angular momentum -- mass relation of local disc galaxies
• xGASS: characterizing the slope and scatter of the stellar mass - angular momentum relation for nearby galaxies