FOGGIE: Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo XII. The Formation and Evolution of Extended HI Galactic Disks and Warps with a Dynamic Circumgalactic medium

TL;DR

This study uses cosmological simulations to analyze the formation, morphology, and evolution of extended HI disks and warps in Milky Way-mass galaxies, revealing their dependence on the circumgalactic medium.

Contribution

First detailed simulation-based analysis of extended HI disks and warps, linking their properties to the circumgalactic medium and environment.

Findings

Median HI column densities drop sharply at disk edges.

All systems exhibit significant warps or polar rings at some point.

Disk morphology correlates with the HI content of the circumgalactic medium.

Abstract

Atomic hydrogen (HI) is an important component of gas in and around galaxies and forms extended disk-like structures well beyond the extent of starlight. Here we investigate the properties and evolution of extended HI disks that emerge in six Milky Way-mass galaxies using cosmological zoom-in simulations from the Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies in Enzo (FOGGIE) suite. We focus on the formation, evolution, and morphology of extended gaseous disks that emerge in all six systems. We find that median HI column densities drop sharply at the disk edge, with mean column densities outside the disk dominated by dense (N_HI~10^{19} cm^{-2}), clumpy structures. All systems have significant misaligned features (warps or polar rings) at some point in their evolution; however, their frequencies, lifetimes, and origins vary significantly. We find that the morphologies of the FOGGIE disks are correlated with properties of their Circumgalactic Medium (CGM). We place these systems along a continuum based on how populated their CGMs are with HI relative to their central disk. All systems kinematically settle similarly by z=0. The less populated systems tend to form coherently rotating, thin, extended disks while the more populated systems do not. Location on this continuum is independent of disk and halo mass, implying a relation to local environmental factors.