H. Vedel et al., FORMATION OF DISC GALAXIES IN THE PRESENCE OF A BACKGROUND UVX RADIATION-FIELD, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 271(3), 1994, pp. 743-751
In order to investigate the effects of a hard ultraviolet (UVX) photon
field on the formation of large disc galaxies, we have performed 3D h
ydrodynamic and N-body simulations of the formation of a Milky Way-siz
ed galaxy. We use a TREE-SPH code to follow the collapse of an overden
se region with 95 per cent collisionless dark matter and 5 per cent ba
ryonic gas. The principal effect of the UVX flux is to ionize the gas,
significantly reducing its ability to dissipate energy by line-coolin
g mechanisms. We present the results of two simulations starting from
the same initial conditions: one of the simulations includes the prese
nce of a UVX radiation field while the other does not. Based on the re
sults of these and other simulations, we conclude that a background UV
X radiation field can significantly affect not only the formation of s
mall galaxies, as proposed by Efstathiou, but also the global properti
es of large disc galaxies.