%0 Generic %1 wolcottgreen2020suppression %A Wolcott-Green, Jemma %A Haiman, Zoltan %A Bryan, Greg L. %D 2020 %K library %T Suppression of H2-cooling in protogalaxies aided by trapped Ly\alpha cooling radiation %U http://arxiv.org/abs/2001.05498 %X We study the thermal evolution of UV-irradiated atomic cooling haloes using high-resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. We consider the effect of H^- photodetachment by Ly\alpha cooling radiation trapped in the optically-thick cores of three such haloes, a process which has not been included in previous simulations. H^- is a precursor of molecular hydrogen, and therefore, its destruction can diminish the H2 abundance and cooling. Using a simple high-end estimate for the trapped Ly\alpha energy density, we find that H^- photodetachment by Ly\alpha decreases the critical UV flux for suppressing H2-cooling by up to a factor of 5. With a more conservative estimate of the Ly\alpha energy density, we find the critical flux is decreased only by ~15-50 percent. Our results suggest that Ly\alpha radiation may have an important effect on the thermal evolution of UV-irradiated haloes, and therefore on the potential for massive black hole formation.

@misc{wolcottgreen2020suppression, abstract = {We study the thermal evolution of UV-irradiated atomic cooling haloes using high-resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. We consider the effect of H^- photodetachment by Ly{\alpha} cooling radiation trapped in the optically-thick cores of three such haloes, a process which has not been included in previous simulations. H^- is a precursor of molecular hydrogen, and therefore, its destruction can diminish the H2 abundance and cooling. Using a simple high-end estimate for the trapped Ly{\alpha} energy density, we find that H^- photodetachment by Ly{\alpha} decreases the critical UV flux for suppressing H2-cooling by up to a factor of \approx 5. With a more conservative estimate of the Ly{\alpha} energy density, we find the critical flux is decreased only by ~15-50 percent. Our results suggest that Ly{\alpha} radiation may have an important effect on the thermal evolution of UV-irradiated haloes, and therefore on the potential for massive black hole formation.}, added-at = {2020-01-17T07:30:50.000+0100}, author = {Wolcott-Green, Jemma and Haiman, Zoltan and Bryan, Greg L.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2220f0b22df5395fc62e2c04a56081df6/gpkulkarni}, description = {Suppression of H2-cooling in protogalaxies aided by trapped Ly{\alpha} cooling radiation}, interhash = {ed3cecb7a62509c0b07100d5d6ca2dea}, intrahash = {220f0b22df5395fc62e2c04a56081df6}, keywords = {library}, note = {cite arxiv:2001.05498Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures}, timestamp = {2020-01-17T07:30:50.000+0100}, title = {Suppression of H2-cooling in protogalaxies aided by trapped Ly{\alpha} cooling radiation}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2001.05498}, year = 2020 }