Speaker
Manuel Behrendt
(MPE, Garching)
Description
We perform high resolution hydrodynamical simulations of gas-rich disks to get a better understanding of the origin and peculiar properties of the dominating structures in z=2 massive disk galaxies. Their structure is irregular, they have highly turbulent motions and high gas fractions of 30-80%. Stars form with enormous rates of a factor of 10-100 higher than in the Milky Way. The star formation is concentrated in a few gigantic clumps of molecular gas, about 1000 times larger than present day molecular clouds. In our simulations, we follow the fragmentation process induced by gravitational instabilities from the beginning and the evolution up to a few orbital times.
In this talk, I focus on axisymmetric instabilities described by an extended theory, which takes the thickness of the disk into account. Furthermore, I present the concept within the context of an idealized simulation of a disk in hydrostatic equilibrium.
Author
Manuel Behrendt
(MPE, Garching)