Galaxy Formation in Preheated Intergalactic Media

Abstract

We outline a scenario of galaxy formation in which the gas in galaxy-forming regions was preheated to high entropy by vigorous energy feedback associated with the formation of stars in old ellipticals and bulges and with AGN activity. Such preheating likely occurred at redshifts z ~ 2-3, and can produce the entropy excess observed today in low-mass clusters of galaxies without destroying the bulk of the Lyman alpha forest. Subsequent galaxy formation is affected by the preheating, because the gas no longer follows the dark matter on galaxy scales. The hot gas around galaxy haloes has very shallow profiles and emits only weakly in the X-ray. Cooling in a preheated halo is not inside-out, because the cooling efficiency does not change significantly with radius. Only part of the gas in a protogalaxy region can cool and be accreted into the final galaxy halo. The accreted gas is likely in diffuse clouds and so does not lose angular momentum to the dark matter. Cluster ellipticals are produced by mergers of stellar systems formed prior to the preheating, while large galaxy disks form in low-density environments where gas accretion can continue to the present time.