Kinematics and Formation Mechanisms of High-Redshift Galaxies

TL;DR

This paper reviews current understanding of the kinematics and formation mechanisms of high-redshift galaxies, emphasizing the importance of turbulent gas motions and future observational prospects to answer key questions.

Contribution

It highlights major outstanding questions about high-redshift galaxy kinematics and discusses how upcoming facilities can address these issues.

Findings

Turbulent gas-phase kinematics are crucial in high-redshift galaxy evolution.

Prevalence of different kinematic models remains uncertain.

Future large optical/IR and millimeter facilities will help resolve key questions.

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in our ability to trace the spatially resolved properties of rapidly star-forming galaxies in the high-redshift universe and numerous studies have suggested the importance of turbulent gas-phase kinematics. In this submission to the Astro 2010 Decadal survey we outline some of the major outstanding questions regarding the kinematics and formation history of these galaxies, such as the prevalence of various kinematic models, the relation to lower surface-brightness populations and faint AGN, and the implications for the evolution of gas accretion and cooling mechanisms with redshift. We comment on the capability of future large optical/IR and millimeter wavelength facilities to address these questions.