The role of cold and hot gas flows in feeding early-type galaxy formation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how cold and hot gas flows influence the formation of early-type galaxies, highlighting a transition from cold to hot accretion and its impact on galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of gas accretion modes in simulated galaxies and links these processes to the two-phase formation scenario of early-type galaxies.

Findings

Cold gas streams fuel early galaxy formation.

A transition to hot gas accretion occurs at z<3.

Gas accretion history correlates with stellar assembly.

Abstract

We study the evolution of the gaseous components in massive simulated galaxies and show that their early formation is fuelled by cold, low entropy gas streams. At lower redshifts of z<3 the simulated galaxies are massive enough to support stable virial shocks resulting in a transition from cold to hot gas accretion. The gas accretion history of early-type galaxies is directly linked to the formation of their stellar component in the two phased formation scenario, in which the central parts of the galaxy assemble rapidly through in situ star formation and the later assembly is dominated primarily by minor stellar mergers.