Primordial Gas Clouds Research Articles

Role of the $\mathrm{H}_2^+$ channel in the primordial star formation under strong radiation field and the critical intensity for the supermassive star formation

We investigate the role of the |$\mathrm{H}_2^+$| channel on H2 molecule formation during the collapse of primordial gas clouds immersed in strong radiation fields which are assumed to have the shape of a diluted blackbody spectra with temperature Trad. Since the photodissociation rate of |$\mathrm{H_2^+}$| depends on its level population, we take full account of the vibrationally resolved |$\mathrm{H}_2^+$| kinetics. We find that in clouds under soft but intense radiation fields with spectral temperature Trad ≲ 7000 K, the |$\mathrm{H_2^+}$| channel is the dominant H2 formation process. On the other hand, for harder spectra with Trad ≳ 7000 K, the H− channel takes over |$\mathrm{H_2^+}$| in the production of molecular hydrogen. We calculate the critical radiation intensity needed for supermassive star formation by direct collapse and examine its dependence on the |$\mathrm{H_2^+}$| level population. Under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) level population, the critical intensity is underestimated by a factor of a few for soft spectra with Trad ≲ 7000 K. For harder spectra, the value of the critical intensity is not affected by the level population of |$\mathrm{H_2^+}$|⁠. This result justifies previous estimates of the critical intensity assuming LTE populations since radiation sources like young and/or metal-poor galaxies are predicted to have rather hard spectra.

The Rotation of Galaxy Clusters

The method for detection of the galaxy cluster rotation based on the study of distribution of member galaxies with velocities lower and higher of the cluster mean velocity over the cluster image is proposed. The search for rotation is made for flat clusters with $a/b>1.8$ and BMI type clusters which are expected to be rotating. For comparison there were studied also round clusters and clusters of NBMI type, the second by brightness galaxy in which does not differ significantly from the cluster cD galaxy. Seventeen out of studied 65 clusters are found to be rotating. It was found that the detection rate is sufficiently high for flat clusters, over 60\%, and clusters of BMI type with dominant cD galaxy, ~ 35%. The obtained results show that clusters were formed from the huge primordial gas clouds and preserved the rotation of the primordial clouds, unless they did not have merging with other clusters and groups of galaxies, in the result of which the rotation has been prevented.

Assessing inflow rates in atomic cooling haloes: implications for direct collapse black holes

Supermassive black holes are not only common in the present-day galaxies, but billion solar masses black holes also powered $z\geq 6$ quasars. One efficient way to form such black holes is the collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud into a so-called direct collapse black hole. The main requirement for this scenario is the presence of large accretion rates of $\rm \geq 0.1~M_{\odot}/yr$ to form a supermassive star. It is not yet clear how and under what conditions such accretion rates can be obtained. The prime aim of this work is to determine the mass accretion rates under non-isothermal collapse conditions. We perform high resolution cosmological simulations for three primordial halos of a few times $\rm 10^7~M_{\odot}$ illuminated by an external UV flux, $\rm J_{21}=100-1000$. We find that a rotationally supported structure of about parsec size is assembled, with an aspect ratio between $\rm 0.25 - 1$ depending upon the thermodynamical properties. Rotational support, however, does not halt collapse, and mass inflow rates of $\rm \sim 0.1~M_{\odot}/yr$ can be obtained in the presence of even a moderate UV background flux of strength $\rm J_{21} \geq 100$. To assess whether such large accretion rates can be maintained over longer time scales, we employed sink particles, confirming the persistence of accretion rates of $\rm \sim 0.1~M_{\odot}/yr$. We propose that complete isothermal collapse and molecular hydrogen suppression may not always be necessary to form supermassive stars, precursors of black hole seeds. Sufficiently high inflow rates can be obtained for UV flux $\rm J_{21}=500-1000$, at least for some cases. This value brings the estimate of the abundance of direct collapse black hole seeds closer to that high redshift quasars.

Particle splitting in smoothed particle hydrodynamics based on Voronoi diagram

We present a novel method for particle splitting in smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Our method utilizes the Voronoi diagram for a given particle set to determine the position of fine daughter particles. We perform several test simulations to compare our method with a conventional splitting method in which the daughter particles are placed isotropically over the local smoothing length. We show that, with our method, the density deviation after splitting is reduced by a factor of about two compared with the conventional method. Splitting would smooth out the anisotropic density structure if the daughters are distributed isotropically, but our scheme allows the daughter particles to trace the original density distribution with length scales of the mean separation of their parent. We apply the particle splitting to simulations of the primordial gas cloud collapse. The thermal evolution is accurately followed to the hydrogen number density of 10^12 /cc. With the effective mass resolution of ~10^-4 Msun after the multi-step particle splitting, the protostellar disk structure is well resolved. We conclude that the method offers an efficient way to simulate the evolution of an interstellar gas and the formation of stars.

Primordial star formation under the influence of far ultraviolet radiation: 1540 cosmological haloes and the stellar mass distribution

We perform a large set of cosmological simulations of early structure formation and follow the formation and evolution of 1540 star-forming gas clouds to derive the mass distribution of primordial stars. The star formation in our cosmological simulations is characterized by two distinct populations, the so-called Population III.1 stars and primordial stars formed under the influence of far ultraviolet (FUV) radiation (Population III.2D stars). In this work, we determine the stellar masses by using the dependences on the physical properties of star-forming cloud and/or the external photodissociating intensity from nearby primordial stars, which are derived from the results of two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations of protostellar feedback. The characteristic mass of the Pop III stars is found to be a few hundred solar masses at z ~ 25, and it gradually shifts to lower masses with decreasing redshift. At high redshifts z > 20, about half of the star-forming gas clouds are exposed to intense FUV radiation and thus give birth to massive Pop III.2D stars. However, the local FUV radiation by nearby Pop III stars becomes weaker at lower redshifts, when typical Pop III stars have smaller masses and the mean physical separation between the stars becomes large owing to cosmic expansion. Therefore, at z < 20, a large fraction of the primordial gas clouds host Pop III.1 stars. At z =< 15, the Pop III.1 stars are formed in relatively cool gas clouds due to efficient radiative cooling by H_2 and HD molecules; such stars have masses of a few x 10 Msun. Since the stellar evolution and the final fate are determined by the stellar mass, Pop III stars formed at different epochs play different roles in the early universe.

Wallace Leslie William Sargent. 15 February 1935 — 29 October 2012

Wallace Sargent was an astronomer who used large telescopes to great effect. He concentrated on outstanding problems concerning both the origin of the elements and the cosmological evolution of primordial gas clouds. Despite a mainly theoretical education he became an expert spectroscopist and this enabled him to demonstrate that most helium was not formed in stars but was primordial, formed in the Big Bang. This helped to determine the photon : baryon ratio that emerged from it. He played a significant part in the search for the supermassive black holes that were predicted to be in the centres of many galaxies, as is now established. He is most famous for his systematic work with Alec Boksenberg FRS on the intervening hydrogen clouds seen in absorption in the spectra of distant quasars. From their work it appears that most of the 4% of the Universe (by mass) that is now considered to be in normal atoms or ions has indeed been detected, although it is seen at considerable look-back times.

Formation of an embryonic supermassive star in the first galaxy

Abstract We studied the gravitational collapse of a warm (∼8000 K) primordial-gas cloud as a candidate progenitor for a supermassive star (SMS; ≳ 105 M⊙) using a three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulation including all the relevant cooling processes of both H2 and H, which can potentially induce cloud fragmentation. This is the first simulation of this kind to resolve protostar formation. We find that from a weakly turbulent initial condition, the cloud undergoes runaway collapse without a major episode of fragmentation. Although the H2 fraction jumps by a large factor via the three-body reaction at ∼10−13 g cm−3, its cooling remains inefficient due to the optical thickness, and the temperature remains ≳ 3000 K. When the central core of the cloud becomes opaque to continuum radiation at ∼10−8 g cm−3, a hydrostatic protostar with ≃0.2 M⊙ is formed. The protostar grows to the mass ≃1 M⊙ and the radius ≃2 au within ∼1 yr via rapid accretion of dense filamentary flows. With high accretion rate, ∼2 M⊙ yr−1, the protostar is expected to turn into an SMS within its lifetime, eventually collapsing to a seed for the supermassive black hole observed in the early Universe at z ∼ 7.

ONE HUNDRED FIRST STARS: PROTOSTELLAR EVOLUTION AND THE FINAL MASSES

We perform a large set of radiation hydrodynamics simulations of primordial star formation in a fully cosmological context. Our statistical sample of 100 First Stars show that the first generation of stars have a wide mass distribution M_popIII = 10 ~ 1000 M_sun. We first run cosmological simulations to generate a set of primordial star-forming gas clouds. We then follow protostar formation in each gas cloud and the subsequent protostellar evolution until the gas mass accretion onto the protostar is halted by stellar radiative feedback. The accretion rates differ significantly among the primordial gas clouds which largely determine the final stellar masses. For low accretion rates the growth of a protostar is self-regulated by radiative feedback effects and the final mass is limited to several tens of solar masses. At high accretion rates the protostar's outer envelope continues to expand and the effective surface temperature remains low; such protostars do not exert strong radiative feedback and can grow in excess to one hundred solar masses. The obtained wide mass range suggests that the first stars play a variety of roles in the early universe, by triggering both core-collapse supernovae and pair-instability supernovae as well as by leaving stellar mass black holes. We find certain correlations between the final stellar mass and the physical properties of the star-forming cloud. These correlations can be used to estimate the mass of the first star from the properties of the parent cloud or of the host halo, without following the detailed protostellar evolution.

THE MASS OF THE FIRST STARS

We perform a three dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulation to investigate the formation of first stars from initial collapse of a primordial gas cloud to formation and growth of protostars. The simulation is integrated until 0.1 Myrs after the formation of the primary protostar by which the protostars have already settled onto main sequence stars. This is the first attempt of simulating first star formation to take into account the ultraviolet radiative feedback effect by the multiple protostars as well as the three dimensional effects such as fragmentation of the accretion disk. We find that the mass accretions onto the population III protostars are significantly suppressed by the radiative feedback from themselves. As a result, we find five stars formed in this particular simulation, and that the final mass of the stars are < 60Msun, including a star of 4.4Msun. Formation of such a star hints at the existence of even lower-mass stars that would live today.

PROBING THE PRE-REIONIZATION EPOCH WITH MOLECULAR HYDROGEN INTENSITY MAPPING

Molecular hydrogen is now understood to be the main coolant of the primordial gas clouds leading to the formation of the very first stars and galaxies. The line emissions associated with molecular hydrogen should then be a good tracer of the matter distribution at the onset of reionization of the universe. Here we propose intensity mapping of H2 line emission in rest-frame mid-infrared wavelengths to map out the spatial distribution of gas at redshifts z > 10. We calculate the expected mean intensity and clustering power spectrum for several H2 lines. We find that the 0-0S(3) rotational line at a rest wavelength of 9.66 microns is the brightest line over the redshift range of 10 to 30 with an intensity of about 5 to 10 Jy/sr at z~15. To reduce astrophysical and instrumental systematics, we propose the cross-correlation between multiple lines of the H2 rotational and vibrational line emission spectrum. Our estimates of the intensity can be used as a guidance in planning instruments for future mid-IR spectroscopy missions such as SPICA.

RADIATIVE COOLING IMPLEMENTATIONS IN SIMULATIONS OF PRIMORDIAL STAR FORMATION

We study the thermal evolution of primordial star-forming gas clouds using three-dimensional cosmological simulations. We critically examine how assumptions and approximations made in calculating radiative cooling rates affect the dynamics of the collapsing gas clouds. We consider two important molecular hydrogen cooling processes that operate in a dense primordial gas; H_2 line cooling and continuum cooling by H_2 collision-induced emission. To calculate the optically thick cooling rates, we follow the Sobolev method for the former, whereas we perform ray-tracing for the latter. We also run the same set of simulations using simplified fitting functions for the net cooling rates. We compare the simulation results in detail. We show that the time- and direction-dependence of hydrodynamic quantities such as gas temperature and local velocity gradients significantly affects the optically thick cooling rates. Gravitational collapse of the cloud core is accelerated when the cooling rates are calculated by using the fitting functions. The structure and evolution of the central pre-stellar disk are also affected. We conclude that physically motivated implementations of radiative transfer are necessary to follow accurately the thermal and chemical evolution of a primordial gas to high densities.

RAPIDLY ACCRETING SUPERGIANT PROTOSTARS: EMBRYOS OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES?

Direct collapse of supermassive stars (SMSs) is a possible pathway for generating supermassive black holes in the early universe. It is expected that an SMS could form via very rapid mass accretion with Mdot ~ 0.1 - 1 Msun/yr during the gravitational collapse of an atomic-cooling primordial gas cloud. In this paper we study how stars would evolve under such extreme rapid mass accretion, focusing on the early evolution until the stellar mass reaches 1000 Msun. To this end we numerically calculate the detailed interior structure of accreting stars with primordial element abundances. Our results show that for accretion rates higher than 0.01 Msun/yr, stellar evolution is qualitatively different from that expected at lower rates. While accreting at these high rates the star always has a radius exceeding 100 Rsun, which increases monotonically with the stellar mass. The mass-radius relation for stellar masses exceeding ~ 100 Msun follows the same track with R_* \propto M_*^0.5 in all cases with accretion rates > 0.01 Msun/yr; at a stellar mass of 1000 Msun the radius is about 7000 Rsun (~= 30 AU). With higher accretion rates the onset of hydrogen burning is shifted towards higher stellar masses. In particular, for accretion rates exceeding Mdot > 0.1 Msun/yr, there is no significant hydrogen burning even after 1000 Msun have accreted onto the protostar. Such "supergiant" protostars have effective temperatures as low as Teff ~= 5000 K throughout their evolution and because they hardly emit ionizing photons, they do not create an HII region or significantly heat their immediate surroundings. Thus, radiative feedback is unable to hinder the growth of rapidly accreting stars to masses in excess of 1000 Msun, as long as material is accreted at rates Mdot > 0.01 Msun/yr.

Goldilocks Black Holes

Astronomers are investigating middleweight, or intermediate-mass, black holes to understand how black holes found at the center of large galaxies from which nothing, not even light, can escape formed so rapidly. The research suggests that middleweight black holes formed by the collapse of primordial gas clouds in the early universe that bypassed the star stage rather than early stars providing small seeds that merged together. Additional clues about middleweight holes may come from studying bulgeless galaxies which conceal middleweight holes behind dust. INSETS: What Were the Seeds of Supermassive Black Holes?;Early Evidence Favors Gas Collapse over Star Mergers.

FORMATION RATES OF POPULATION III STARS AND CHEMICAL ENRICHMENT OF HALOS DURING THE REIONIZATION ERA

The first stars in the universe formed out of pristine primordial gas clouds that were radiatively cooled to a few hundreds of degrees kelvin either via molecular or atomic (Lyman-α) hydrogen lines. This primordial mode of star formation was eventually quenched once radiative and/or chemical (metal enrichment) feedbacks marked the transition to Population II stars. In this paper, we present a model for the formation rate of Population III stars based on Press–Schechter modeling coupled with analytical recipes for gas cooling and radiative feedback. Our model also includes a novel treatment for metal pollution based on self-enrichment due to a previous episode of Population III star formation in progenitor halos. With this model, we derive the star formation history of Population III stars, their contribution to the reionization of the universe and the time of the transition from Population III star formation in minihalos (M ≈ 106 M☉, cooled via molecular hydrogen) to that in more massive halos (M ≳ 2 × 107 M☉, where atomic hydrogen cooling is also possible). We consider a grid of models highlighting the impact of varying the values for the free parameters used, such as star formation and feedback efficiency. The most critical factor is the assumption that only one Population III star is formed in a halo. In this scenario, metal-free stars contribute only to a minor fraction of the total number of photons required to reionize the universe. In addition, metal-free star formation is primarily located in minihalos, and chemically enriched halos become the dominant locus of star formation very early in the life of the universe—at redshift z ≈ 25—even assuming a modest fraction (0.5%) of enriched gas converted in stars. If instead multiple metal-free stars are allowed to form out of a single halo, then there is an overall boost of Population III star formation, with a consequent significant contribution to the reionizing radiation budget. In addition, the bulk of metal-free stars are produced in halos with M ≳ 2 × 107 M☉.

Fluctuations in the high-redshift Lyman-Werner background: close halo pairs as the origin of supermassive black holes

The earliest generation of stars and black holes must have established an early ‘Lyman–Werner’ background (LWB) at high redshift, prior to the epoch of reionization. Because of the long mean free path of photons with energies hν < 13.6 eV, the LWB was nearly uniform. However, some variation in the LWB is expected due to the discrete nature of the sources, and their highly clustered spatial distribution. In this paper, we compute the probability distribution function (PDF) of the LW flux that irradiates dark matter (DM) haloes collapsing at high redshift (z≈ 10). Our model accounts for (i) the clustering of DM haloes, (ii) Poisson fluctuations in the number of corresponding star-forming galaxies and (iii) scatter in the LW luminosity produced by haloes of a given mass (calibrated using local observations). We find that >99 per cent of the DM haloes are illuminated by an LW flux within a factor of 2 of the global mean value. However, a small fraction, ∼10−8 to 10−6, of DM haloes with virial temperatures Tvir≳ 104 K have a close luminous neighbour within ≲10 kpc, and are exposed to an LW flux exceeding the global mean by a factor of >20, or to J21,LW > 103 (in units of 10−21 erg s−1 Hz−1 sr−1 cm−2). This large LW flux can photodissociate H2 molecules in the gas collapsing due to atomic cooling in these haloes, and prevent its further cooling and fragmentation. Such close halo pairs therefore provide possible sites in which primordial gas clouds collapse directly into massive black holes (MBH≈ 104−6M⊙), and subsequently grow into supermassive (MBH≳ 109M⊙) black holes by z≈ 6.

Binary Formation in Star-forming Clouds with Various Metallicities

Cloud evolution for various metallicities is investigated by three-dimensional nested grid simulations, in which the initial ratio of rotational to gravitational energy of the host cloud \beta_0 (=10^-1 - 10^-6) and cloud metallicity Z (=0 - Z_\odot) are parameters. Starting from a central number density of n = 10^4 cm^-3, cloud evolution for 48 models is calculated until the protostar is formed (n \simeq 10^23 cm^-3) or fragmentation occurs. The fragmentation condition depends both on the initial rotational energy and cloud metallicity. Cloud rotation promotes fragmentation, while fragmentation tends to be suppressed in clouds with higher metallicity. Fragmentation occurs when \beta_0 > 10^-3 in clouds with solar metallicity, while fragmentation occurs when \beta_0 > 10^-5 in the primordial gas cloud. Clouds with lower metallicity have larger probability of fragmentation, which indicates that the binary frequency is a decreasing function of cloud metallicity. Thus, the binary frequency at the early universe (or lower metallicity environment) is higher than at present day (or higher metallicity environment). In addition, binary stars born from low-metallicity clouds have shorter orbital periods than those from high-metallicity clouds. These trends are explained in terms of the thermal history of the collapsing cloud.

Sterile dark matter and reionization

Sterile neutrinos with masses in the keV range can be the dark matter, and their emission from a supernova can explain the observed velocities of pulsars. The sterile neutrino decays could produce the x-ray radiation in the early universe, which could have an important effect on the formation of the first stars. X-rays could ionize gas and could catalyze the production of molecular hydrogen during the ``dark ages''. The increased fraction of molecular hydrogen could facilitate the cooling and collapse of the primordial gas clouds in which the first stars were formed.

Impact of cosmic rays on Population III star formation

We explore the implications of a possible cosmic ray (CR) background generated during the first supernova explosions that end the brief lives of massive Population III stars. We show that such a CR background could have significantly influenced the cooling and collapse of primordial gas clouds in minihaloes around redshifts of z ~ 15 - 20, provided the CR flux was sufficient to yield an ionization rate greater than about 10^-19 s^-1 near the center of the minihalo. The presence of CRs with energies less than approximately 10^7 eV would indirectly enhance the molecular cooling in these regions, and we estimate that the resulting lower temperatures in these minihaloes would yield a characteristic stellar mass as low as ~ 10 M_sun. CRs have a less pronounced effect on the cooling and collapse of primordial gas clouds inside more massive dark matter haloes with virial masses greater than approximately 10^8 M_sun at the later stages of cosmological structure formation around z ~ 10 - 15. In these clouds, even without CR flux the molecular abundance is already sufficient to allow cooling to the floor set by the temperature of the cosmic microwave background.

Early Cosmological Hii/HeiiiRegions and Their Impact on Second‐Generation Star Formation

We present the results of three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the formation and evolution of early H II/He III regions around the first stars. Cooling and recollapse of the gas in the relic H II region is also followed in a full cosmological context, until second-generation stars are formed. We first carry out ray-tracing simulations of ionizing radiation transfer from the first star. Hydrodynamics is directly coupled with photoionization heating as well as radiative and chemical cooling. The photoionized hot gas is evacuated out of the host halo at a velocity of ~30 km s-1. This radiative feedback effect quenches further star formation within the halo for over tens to a hundred million years. We show that the thermal and chemical evolution of the photoionized gas in the relic H II region is remarkably different from that of a neutral primordial gas. Efficient molecular hydrogen production in the recombining gas enables it to cool to ~100 K, where fractionation of HD/H2 occurs. The gas further cools by HD line cooling down to a few tens of kelvins. Interestingly, at high redshifts (z > 10), the minimum gas temperature is limited by that of the cosmic microwave background with TCMB = 2.728(1 + z). The gas cloud experiences runaway collapse when its mass is ~40 M☉, which is significantly smaller than a typical clump mass of ~200-300 M☉ for early primordial gas clouds. We argue that massive, rather than very massive, primordial stars may form in the relic H II region. Such stars might be responsible for early metal enrichment of the interstellar medium from which recently discovered hyper-metal-poor stars were born.

The first generation of stars in the cold dark matter cosmology

We have performed a large set of high-resolution cosmological simulations using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) to study the formation of the first luminous objects in the {Lambda}CDM cosmology. We follow the collapse of primordial gas clouds in eight early structures and document the scatter in the properties of the first star-forming clouds. Our first objects span formation redshifts from z {approx} 10 to z {approx} 50 and cover an order of magnitude in halo mass. We find that the physical properties of the central star-forming clouds are very similar in all of the simulated objects despite significant differences in formation redshift and environment. This suggests that the formation path of the first stars is largely independent of the collapse redshift; the physical properties of the clouds have little correlation with spin, mass, or assembly history of the host halo. The collapse of proto-stellar objects at higher redshifts progresses much more rapidly due to the higher densities, which accelerates the formation of molecular hydrogen, enhances initial cooling and shortens the dynamical timescales. The mass of the star-forming clouds cover a broad range, from a few hundred to a few thousand solar masses, and exhibit various morphologies: some have disk-like structures which are nearly rotational supported; others form flattened spheroids; still others form bars. All of them develop a single protostellar ''seed'' which does not fragment into multiple objects up to the moment that the central gas becomes optically thick to H{sub 2} cooling lines. At this time, the instantaneous mass accretion rate onto the centre varies significantly from object to object, with disk-like structures having the smallest mass accretion rates. The formation epoch and properties of the star-forming clouds are sensitive to the values of cosmological parameters.