Dark Matter Deficient Galaxies And Their Member Star Clusters Form Simultaneously During High-velocity Galaxy Collisions In 1.25 pc Resolution Simulations

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution galaxy collision simulations to demonstrate that dark matter deficient galaxies and their star clusters can form simultaneously during high-velocity galaxy collisions, providing insights into their origins.

Contribution

The paper presents the first high-resolution simulations showing simultaneous formation of DMDGs and star clusters during galaxy collisions, matching observed properties.

Findings

High-velocity collisions induce formation of DMDGs and star clusters within 150 Myr.

Simulations produce DMDGs with properties similar to observed galaxies like NGC1052-DF2.

Multiple massive star clusters form in the aftermath of galaxy collisions.

Abstract

How diffuse dwarf galaxies that are deficient in dark matter -- such as NGC1052-DF2 and NGC1052-DF4 -- formed remains a mystery. Along with their luminous member globular clusters (GCs), the so-called dark matter deficient galaxies (DMDGs) have challenged observers and theorists alike. Here we report a suite of galaxy collision simulations using the adaptive mesh refinement code ENZO with 1.25 pc resolution, which demonstrates that high-velocity galaxy collisions induce the formation of DMDGs and their star clusters (SCs) simultaneously. With a numerical resolution significantly better than our previous study (Shin et al. 2020), we resolve the dynamical structure of the produced DMDGs and the detailed formation history of their SCs which are possible progenitors of the DMDG's member GCs. In particular, we show that a galaxy collision with a high relative velocity of $\sim 300\;{\rm km\;s}^{-1}$, invoking severe shock compression, spawns multiple massive SCs ($\gtrsim 10^{6}\;{\rm M}_{\odot}$) within 150 Myr after the collision. At the end of our ~ 800 Myr fiducial run, the resulting DMDG of $M_{\star} \simeq 3.5\times 10^{8}\;{M}_{\odot}$ hosts 10 luminous ($M_{\rm V} \lesssim -8.5\;{\rm mag}$), gravitational bound SCs with a line-of-sight velocity dispersion $11.2\;{\rm km\;s}^{-1}$. Our study suggests that DMDGs and their luminous member SCs could form simultaneously in high-velocity galaxy collisions while being in line with the key observed properties of NGC1052-DF2 and NGC1052-DF4.