Accretion-driven turbulence and the transition to global instability in young galaxy disks

Abstract

A simple model of gas accretion in young galaxy disks suggests that fast turbulent motions can be driven by accretion energy for a time t acc ∼ 2(ε0.5 GM 2/ξV 3)0.5 where ε is the fraction of the accretion energy going into disk turbulence, M and V are the galaxy mass and rotation speed, and ξ is the accretion rate. After t acc, accretion is replaced by disk instabilities as a source of turbulence driving, and shortly after that, energetic feedback by young stars should become important. The star formation rate equilibrates at the accretion rate after 1 to 2 t acc, depending on the star formation efficiency per dynamical time. The fast turbulence that is observed in high-redshift starburst disks is not likely to be driven by accretion because the initial t acc phase is over by the time the starburst is present. However, the high turbulent speeds that must have been present earlier, when the observed massive clumps first formed, could have been driven by accretion energy. The combined observations of a high relative velocity dispersion in the gas of z ∼ 2 clumpy galaxies and a gas mass comparable to the stellar mass suggest that either the star formation efficiency is fairly high, perhaps 10× higher than in local galaxies, or the observed turbulence is powered by young stars. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.