Chemodynamics of Lyman alpha emitters, Lyman break galaxies and elliptical galaxies

¹ Institute of Natural Sciences, Senshu University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8580, Japan
² Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan

Abstract

We report an ultra-high-resolution simulation that follows evolution from the earliest stages of galaxy formation through the period of dynamical relaxation. The bubble structures of gas revealed in our simulation (<3×10⁸ years) resemble closely the high-redshift Lyman α emitters (LAEs). After 10⁹ years these bodies are dominated by stellar continuum radiation and look like the Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) known as the high-redshift star-forming galaxies at which point the abundance of elements appears to be solar. After 1.3×10¹⁰ years, these galaxies resemble present-day ellipticals. The comparisons of simulation results with the observations of elliptical galaxies allow us to conclude that LAEs and LBGs are infants of elliptical galaxies or bulge systems in the nearby universe.