Formation of proto-globular cluster candidates in cosmological simulations of dwarf galaxies at $z>4$

Abstract

We perform cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to study the formation of proto-globular cluster candidates in progenitors of present-day dwarf galaxies $(M_{\mathrm{vir}}\approx 10^{10}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ at $z=0$) as part of the "Feedback in Realistic Environment" (FIRE) project. Compact ($r_{1/2}<30$ pc), relatively massive ($0.5\times 10^5\lesssim M_{\star }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }\lesssim 5\times 10^5$), self-bound stellar clusters form at $11\gtrsim z\gtrsim 5$ in progenitors with $M_{\mathrm{vir}}\approx 10^9{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. Cluster formation is triggered when at least $10^7{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ of dense, turbulent gas reaches ${\Sigma }_{\mathrm{gas}}\approx 10^4{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }{\mathrm{pc}}^{-2}$ as a result of the compressive effects of supernova feedback or from cloud-cloud collisions. The clusters can survive for $2-3\mathrm{Gyr}$; absent numerical effects, they would likely survive substantially longer, perhaps to $z=0$. The longest-lived clusters are those that form at significant distance -- several hundreds of pc -- from their host galaxy. We therefore predict that globular clusters forming in progenitors of present-day dwarf galaxies will be offset from any pre-existing stars within their host dark matter halos as opposed to deeply embedded within a well-defined galaxy. Properties of the nascent clusters are consistent with observations of some of the faintest and most compact high-redshift sources in \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} lensing fields and are at the edge of what will be detectable as point sources in deep imaging of non-lensed fields with the \textit{James Webb Space Telescope}. By contrast, the star clusters' host galaxies will remain undetectable.

14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS

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