Ultra-diffuse galaxies: the high-spin tail of the abundant dwarf galaxy population

TL;DR

This paper proposes that ultra-diffuse galaxies are the high-spin tail of dwarf galaxies, formed in dwarf-sized haloes with higher angular momentum, explaining their large sizes and low surface brightness.

Contribution

It demonstrates that UDGs can be explained as high-spin dwarf galaxies using the standard disk formation model, without requiring them to be failed larger galaxies.

Findings

UDGs are consistent with high-spin dwarf galaxy formation.

The abundance of UDGs matches predictions based on host cluster mass.

UDGs should also be prevalent in the field with different properties.

Abstract

Recent observations have revealed the existence of an abundant population of faint, low surface brightness (SB) galaxies, which appear to be numerous and ubiquitous in nearby galaxy clusters, including the Virgo, Coma and Fornax clusters. With median stellar masses of dwarf galaxies, these ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) have unexpectedly large sizes, corresponding to a mean SB of $24\lesssim\langle\mu_e\rangle_r\ {\rm mag}^{-1} {\rm arcsec}^2\lesssim27$ within the effective radius. We show that the UDG population represents the tail of galaxies formed in dwarf-sized haloes with higher-than-average angular momentum. By adopting the standard model of disk formation -- in which the size of galaxies is set by the spin of the halo -- we recover both the abundance of UDGs as a function of the host cluster mass and the distribution of sizes within the UDG population. According to this model, UDGs are not failed $L_*$ galaxies, but genuine dwarfs, and their low SB is not uniquely connected to the harsh cluster environment. We therefore expect a correspondingly abundant population of UDGs in the field, with likely different morphologies and colours.