English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

We use zoom simulations to show how merger-driven disruption of the gas discin a galaxy provides its central active galactic nucleus (AGN) with fuel todrive outflows that entrain and expel a significant fraction of thecircumgalactic medium (CGM). This in turn suppresses replenishment of theinterstellar medium, causing the galaxy to quench up to several Gyr after themerger. We start by performing a zoom simulation of a present-day star-formingdisc galaxy with the EAGLE galaxy formation model. Then, we re-simulate thegalaxy with controlled changes to its initial conditions, using the geneticmodification technique. These modifications either increase or decrease thestellar mass ratio of the galaxy's last significant merger, which occurs at$z\approx 0.74$. The halo reaches the same present-day mass in all cases, butchanging the mass ratio of the merger yields markedly different galaxy and CGMproperties. We find that a merger can unlock rapid growth of the centralsupermassive black hole if it disrupts the co-rotational motion of gas in theblack hole's vicinity. Conversely, if a less disruptive merger occurs and gasclose to the black hole is not disturbed, the AGN does not strongly affect theCGM, and consequently the galaxy continues to form stars. Our resultillustrates how a unified view of AGN feedback, the baryon cycle and theinterstellar medium is required to understand how mergers and quenching areconnected over long timescales.

Galaxy mergers can initiate quenching by unlocking an AGN-driven transformation of the baryon cycle