Angular Momentum Dynamics in Galaxy Formation
Summary
Galaxies acquire their rotational properties through tidal interactions in the early universe, which impart angular momentum to collapsing dark matter overdensities. As baryonic gas cools and falls into these spinning halos, it conserves and redistributes angular momentum, shaping the formation of rotating disks or pressure-supported spheroids. The efficiency of angular momentum retention is modulated by mergers, feedback from star formation and active nuclei, and the exchange of material with the surrounding circumgalactic medium. These processes give rise to robust scaling relations between mass and specific angular momentum, which in turn govern galaxy morphology, star formation rates and chemical enrichment histories. Understanding the balance between angular momentum acquisition, loss and internal redistribution is central to predicting the diversity of galaxy types observed across cosmic time.
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Angular Momentum Dynamics in Galaxy Formation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in angular momentum dynamics in galaxy formation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Angular momentum: A measure of the rotational motion of a system, conserved in the absence of external torques.
Specific angular momentum: Angular momentum per unit mass, often denoted j, used to compare rotational properties across systems.
Dark matter halo: The extended, unseen mass component enveloping galaxies, within which baryons collapse to form stars.
Baryons: Ordinary matter composed of protons, neutrons and electrons that builds stars, gas and dust.
Circumgalactic medium: The diffuse gas reservoir around a galaxy that exchanges mass and angular momentum via accretion and outflows.
Disk spin parameter: A dimensionless measure of the rotational support of a galactic disk relative to its gravitational binding.
References
- Negligible Effects of Baryons on the Angular Momentum Scaling Relations of Galactic Dark Matter Halos. The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2023).
- Formation of Galactic Disks. II. The Physical Drivers of Disk Spin-up. The Astrophysical Journal (2024).
- FUNDAMENTAL MASS–SPIN–MORPHOLOGY RELATION OF SPIRAL GALAXIES. The Astrophysical Journal (2014).
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