The rapid onset of stellar bars in the baryon-dominated centers of disk galaxies

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in baryon-dominated centers of disk galaxies, stellar bars form rapidly, with formation timescales exponentially dependent on the disk mass fraction, supported by simulations and recent JWST observations.

Contribution

It introduces a new understanding of bar formation timescales based on the exponential dependence on disk mass fraction and highlights the importance of baryon dominance in early galaxy evolution.

Findings

Bar formation time declines exponentially with increasing disk mass fraction.

High-redshift disks are likely to host mature stellar bars earlier than previously thought.

The Efstathiou-Lake-Negroponte criterion is inversely related to disk mass fraction.

Abstract

Recent observations of high-redshift galactic disks ($z\approx 1-3$) show a strong negative trend in the dark matter fraction $f_{DM}$ with increasing baryonic surface density. For this to be true, the inner baryons must dominate over dark matter in early massive galaxies, as observed in the Milky Way today. If disks are dominant at early times, we show that stellar bars form promptly within these disks, leading to a high bar fraction at early times. New JWST observations provide the best evidence to date for mature stellar bars in this redshift range. The disk mass fraction $f_{disk}$ within $R_s=2.2 R_{disk}$ is the dominant factor in determining how rapidly a bar forms. Using 3D hydro simulations of halo-disk-bulge galaxies, we confirm the "Fujii relation" for the exponential dependence of the bar formation time $\tau_{bar}$ as a function of $f_{disk}$. For $f_{disk} > 0.3$, the bar formation time declines exponentially fast with increasing $f_{disk}$. This relation is a challenge to simulators - barred models with inadequate resolution fall off this curve. Instead of Fujii's arbitrary threshold for when a bar forms, for the first time, we exploit the exponential growth timescale associated with a positive feedback cycle as the bar emerges from the underlying disk. A modified, mass-dependent trend is observed for halos relevant to systems at cosmic noon ($10.5 < \log M_{halo} < 12$), where the bar onset is slower for higher mass halos at a fixed $f_{disk}$. If baryons dominate over dark matter within $R \approx R_s$, we predict that a high fraction of bars will be found in high-redshift disks long before $z = 1$. Due to its widespread use in simulations, we investigate the Efstathiou-Lake-Negroponte criterion for bar instability: this sub-optimal parameter is inversely related to $f_{disk}$, with a secondary dependence on $M_{halo}$.