The active role of co-evolving haloes in stellar bar formation

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to demonstrate that co-evolving dark matter haloes are essential for the formation and persistence of stellar bars in galaxies, challenging traditional stability criteria.

Contribution

It reveals that live haloes enable bar formation and longevity, showing the importance of halo-disc co-evolution, which is not captured by static halo models.

Findings

Live haloes produce strong stellar bars, static haloes do not.

Replacing a live halo with a static one causes bars to dissipate.

A dark matter bar grows alongside the stellar bar in live halo simulations.

Abstract

We use idealised N-body simulations of equilibrium discs in live and static haloes to study how dark matter co-evolution impacts the assembly of stellar particles into a bar and the halo response. Initial conditions correspond to a marginally unstable disc according to commonly used disc stability criteria, and are evolved for the equivalent of about 150 disc dynamical times (10Gyr). An extensive convergence study ensures accurate modelling of the bar formation process. Live haloes lead to the formation of a strong bar, but the same disc remains unbarred when evolved in a static halo. Neither seeded disc instabilities, nor longer (60Gyr) simulations result in the formation of a bar when the halo is static. When the live halo is replaced with a static analogue at later times the previously robust bar slowly dissipates, suggesting: (1) the co-evolution of the disc and halo is critical for the assembly and long-term survival of bars in marginally unstable discs; and (2) global disc stability criteria must be modified for discs in the presence of live haloes. In our live halo runs, a "dark bar" grows synchronously with the stellar bar. Processes that inhibit the transfer of angular momentum between the halo and disc may stabilise a galaxy against bar formation, and can lead to the dissolution of the bar itself. This raises further questions about the puzzling stability of observed discs that are marginally unstable, but unbarred.