The Angular Momentum of the Circumgalactic Medium in the TNG100 Simulation

Abstract

We present an analysis of the angular momentum content of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) using TNG100, one of the flagship runs of the IllustrisTNG project. We focus on Milky Way–mass halos (∼10 12 M ⊙ ) at z  = 0 but also analyze other masses and redshifts up to z  = 5. We find that the CGM angular momentum properties are strongly correlated with the stellar angular momentum of the corresponding galaxy: the CGM surrounding high-angular momentum galaxies has a systematically higher angular momentum and is better aligned to the rotational axis of the galaxy itself than the CGM surrounding low-angular momentum galaxies. Both the hot and cold phases of the CGM show this dichotomy, though it is stronger for colder gas. The CGM of high-angular momentum galaxies is characterized by a large wedge of cold gas with rotational velocities at least ∼1/2 of the halo’s virial velocity, extending out to ∼1/2 of the virial radius, and by biconical polar regions dominated by radial velocities suggestive of galactic fountains; both of these features are absent from the CGM of low-angular momentum galaxies. These conclusions are general to halo masses ≲10 12 M ⊙ and for z  ≲ 2, but they do not apply for more massive halos or at the highest redshift studied. By comparing simulations run with alterations to the fiducial feedback model, we identify the better alignment of the CGM to high-angular momentum galaxies as a feedback-independent effect and the galactic winds as a dominant influence on the CGM’s angular momentum.