The Cosmological Origin of Disk Galaxy Scaling Laws

We discuss possible origins of scaling laws relating structural properties of disk galaxies within the context of hierarchically clustering theories of galaxy formation. Using gasdynamical simulations that incorporate the effects of star formation we illustrate these global trends and highlight the difficulties faced by models that envision disk galaxies as the final outcome of a hierarchical sequence of merger events. In particular, we focus on the cosmological origin of the Tully–Fisher relation, and argue that this correlation between the total luminosity and rotation speed of disk galaxies is a natural result of the approximately scale free formation process of the massive halos they inhabit. Although the slope and scatter of the Tully–Fisher relation can be readily reproduced in hierarchical formation scenarios, the observed zero-point of the relation is inconsistent with simulations of galaxy formation in Cold Dark Matter universes, a difficulty that can be traced to the high central mass concentration of dark halos formed in this cosmogony. This result indicates that substantial revision to the new “standard” model of structure formation (ΛCDM) may be needed in order to accommodate observations on the scale of individual disk galaxies.