Abstract
In the primordial universe, low-mass structures with virial temperatures less than 104K were unable to cool by atomic line transitions, leading to a strong suppression of star formation. On the other hand, these "minihalos" were highly prone to triggered star formation by interactions from nearby galaxy outflows. In Gray & Scannapieco, we explored the impact of nonequilibrium chemistry on these interactions. Here we turn our attention to the role of metals, carrying out a series of high-resolution three-dimensional adaptive mesh refinement simulations that include both metal cooling and a subgrid turbulent mixing model. Despite the presence of an additional coolant, we again find that outflow-minihalo interactions produce a distribution of dense, massive stellar clusters. We also find that these clusters are evenly enriched with metals to a final abundance of Z ≈ 10 -2 Z ⊙. As in our previous simulations, all of these properties suggest that these interactions may have given rise to present-day halo globular clusters.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 88 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 733 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2011 |
Keywords
- abundances
- galaxies: formation
- galaxies: high-redshift
- galaxies: star clusters: general
- globular clusters: general
- shock waves
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science