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Published December 2017 | Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

A minimalist feedback-regulated model for galaxy formation during the epoch of reionization

Abstract

Near-infrared surveys have now determined the luminosity functions of galaxies at 6 ≲ z ≲ 8 to impressive precision and identified a number of candidates at even earlier times. Here, we develop a simple analytic model to describe these populations that allows physically motivated extrapolation to earlier times and fainter luminosities. We assume that galaxies grow through accretion on to dark matter haloes, which we model by matching haloes at fixed number density across redshift, and that stellar feedback limits the star formation rate. We allow for a variety of feedback mechanisms, including regulation through supernova energy and momentum from radiation pressure. We show that reasonable choices for the feedback parameters can fit the available galaxy data, which in turn substantially limits the range of plausible extrapolations of the luminosity function to earlier times and fainter luminosities: for example, the global star formation rate declines rapidly (by a factor of ∼20 from z = 6 to 15 in our fiducial model), but the bright galaxies accessible to observations decline even faster (by a factor ≳ 400 over the same range). Our framework helps us develop intuition for the range of expectations permitted by simple models of high-z galaxies that build on our understanding of 'normal' galaxy evolution. We also provide predictions for galaxy measurements by future facilities, including James Webb Space Telescope and Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope.

Additional Information

© 2017 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accepted 2017 August 15. Received 2017 August 15; in original form 2016 October 30. Published: 18 August 2017. SRF thanks A. Benson, A. Dekel and B. Robertson for helpful conversations. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through award AST-1440343 and by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through award NNX15AK80G. We also acknowledge a NASA contract supporting the 'WFIRST Extragalactic Potential Observations (EXPO) Science Investigation Team' (15-WFIRST15-0004), administered by GSFC. SRF was partially supported by a Simons Fellowship in Theoretical Physics and thanks the Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Washington for hospitality while much of this work was completed. This research was also completed as part of the University of California Cosmic Dawn Initiative. We acknowledge support from the University of California Office of the President Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives through award MR-15-328388.

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Published - stx2132.pdf

Submitted - 1611.01169.pdf

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