NIHAO XI: Formation of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies by outflows

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates through cosmological simulations that Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs) form naturally in medium-mass haloes due to gas outflows driven by star formation, leading to their extended size and low surface brightness.

Contribution

The study introduces a formation scenario for UDGs driven by feedback-induced gas outflows, showing they are a dwarf galaxy population with specific properties in isolated environments.

Findings

UDGs form in $10^{10-11} M_{ m ext{sun}}$ haloes.

UDGs have stellar masses of $10^{7-8.5} M_{ m ext{sun}}$ and large effective radii.

Gas outflows and feedback are key to UDG formation.

Abstract

We address the origin of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs), which have stellar masses typical of dwarf galaxies but effective radii of Milky Way-sized objects. Their formation mechanism, and whether they are failed $\rm L_{\star}$ galaxies or diffuse dwarfs, are challenging issues. Using zoom-in cosmological simulations from the NIHAO project, we show that UDG analogues form naturally in medium-mass haloes due to episodes of gas outflows associated with star formation. The simulated UDGs live in isolated haloes of masses $10^{10-11}\rm M_{\odot}$, have stellar masses of $10^{7-8.5}\rm M_{\odot}$, effective radii larger than 1 kpc and dark matter cores. They show a broad range of colors, an average S\'ersic index of 0.83, a typical distribution of halo spin and concentration, and a non-negligible HI gas mass of $10^{7-9}\rm M_{\odot}$, which correlates with the extent of the galaxy. Gas availability is crucial to the internal processes that form UDGs: feedback driven gas outflows, and subsequent dark matter and stellar expansion, are the key to reproduce faint, yet unusually extended, galaxies. This scenario implies that UDGs represent a dwarf population of low surface brightness galaxies and should exist in the field. The largest isolated UDGs should contain more HI gas than less extended dwarfs of similar $\rm M_{\star}$.