Photoionization of Clustered Halos by the First Stars

TL;DR

This study uses detailed numerical simulations to explore how the first stars' radiation affects nearby primordial halos, revealing diverse outcomes based on halo density and proximity, with implications for early star formation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive, multi-frequency radiative transfer simulation of primordial halo photoevaporation, improving upon previous simplified models and highlighting complex feedback effects.

Findings

Diffuse halos are fully ionized and evaporated.

Dense halos resist ionization and can collapse without delay.

H$_2$ formation recovers rapidly after star death, enabling early star formation.

Abstract

We present numerical simulations of the photoevaporation of cosmological halos clustered around a 120 M$_\odot$ primordial star, confining our study to structures capable of hosting Population III star formation. The calculations include self-consistent multifrequency conservative transfer of UV photons together with nine-species primordial chemistry and all relevant radiative processes. The ultimate fates of these halos varies with central density and proximity to the central source but generally fall into one of four categories. Diffuse halos with central densities below 2 - 3 cm$^{-3}$ are completely ionized and evaporated by the central star anywhere in the cluster. More evolved halo cores at densities above 2000 cm$^{-3}$ are impervious to both ionizing and Lyman-Werner flux at most distances from the star and collapse of their cores proceeds without delay. Radiative feedback in halos of intermediate density can be either positive or negative, depending on how the I-front remnant shock both compresses and deforms the core and enriches it with H$_2$. We find that the 120 M$_\odot$ star photodissociates H$_2$ in most halos within the cluster but that catalysis by H- rapidly restores molecular hydrogen within a few hundred Kyr after the death of the star, with little delay in star formation. Our models exhibit significant departures from previous one-dimensional spherically-symmetric simulations, which are prone to serious errors due to unphysical geometric focusing effects.