Resolving the Assembly of Disk Galaxies from the Epoch of Reionisation to Cosmic Noon

Melanie Kaasinen; Mahsa Kohandel; Francesca Rizzo; Cecilia Bacchini; Anita Zanella; Lucie Rowland; Miguel Querejeta; Hannah R. Stacey; Andrea Lapi; Umberto Maio; Kirsty M. Butler; Gareth Jones; Emily Wisnioski; Justin Spilker; Livia Vallini; Andrea Pallottini; Belén Alcade Pampliega; Juan Molina; Pavel Mancera Piña; Corentin Cadiou; Giulia Despali; Francesco Salvestrini; Federico Lelli; Daizhong Liu; Maruša Bradač; Karina Caputi; Michele Ginolfi; Matteo Messa; Isabella Lamperti; Marcel Neeleman; Alba Vidal-García; Jeremy Fensch; Seiji Fujimoto; Jacqueline A. Hodge; Gergö Popping; Sabine Thater; Elisabete da Cunha; Leindert A. Boogaard; Manuel Aravena; Takafumi Tsukui; Deanne Fisher; James McGregor; Pierre Cox; Jonathan Freundlich; Mamta Pandey-Pommier; Miguel Pereira-Santaella; Aristeidis Amvrosiadis; Vanshika Kansal

arXiv · 2610.21441

Resolving the Assembly of Disk Galaxies from the Epoch of Reionisation to Cosmic Noon

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Abstract

Most of the mass and angular momentum of today's disk galaxies assembled at $z>1$. Yet, it remains unclear how these galaxies acquired their gas, how their baryons and dark matter coevolved, and how feedback and radial gas transport shaped their disks. Addressing these gaps requires resolved observations of cold gas, which carries most of the mass and angular momentum involved in galaxy assembly. By resolving CO and [C II] at kpc scales, ALMA revealed a surprising population of rotation-dominated disks, even at $z>2$, exhibiting kinematic signatures consistent with spiral arms, bars, and tidal tails. Yet, these studies are limited to massive ($M_\star>10^{10.5}$ M$_\odot$) and highly star-forming (SFRs$\gtrsim 100$ M$_\odot$yr$^{-1}$) galaxies, the progenitors of today's most massive elliptical and disk galaxies. To understand how most present-day spirals (like the Milky Way) assembled, it is crucial to resolve their low-mass progenitors, which dominate the star-forming galaxy population by number at $z>1$. Achieving this goal demands a tenfold increase in line sensitivity and hence a next-generation sub-/millimetre facility: ALMA2040. This leap in sensitivity will enable routine resolved studies of hundreds of $M_\star>10^9$ M$_\odot$ galaxies, including those on and below the main sequence of star-forming galaxies, providing representative, statistical galaxy samples with sub-kpc constraints on the cold gas kinematics and morphology. By uniquely providing resolved CO, [C I], and [C II] observations across $z=1-6$, ALMA2040 will trace a much larger fraction of the cold-gas reservoir than is accessible today, extending resolved studies from rare massive and/or lensed systems to representative galaxy populations. In this way, ALMA2040 will transform our understanding of how galaxy disks formed and evolved.

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Melanie Kaasinen, Mahsa Kohandel, Francesca Rizzo, Cecilia Bacchini, Anita Zanella, Lucie Rowland, Miguel Querejeta, Hannah R. Stacey, Andrea Lapi, Umberto Maio, Kirsty M. Butler, Gareth Jones, Emily Wisnioski, Justin Spilker, Livia Vallini, Andrea Pallottini, Belén Alcade Pampliega, Juan Molina, Pavel Mancera Piña, Corentin Cadiou, Giulia Despali, Francesco Salvestrini, Federico Lelli, Daizhong Liu, Maruša Bradač, Karina Caputi, Michele Ginolfi, Matteo Messa, Isabella Lamperti, Marcel Neeleman, Alba Vidal-García, Jeremy Fensch, Seiji Fujimoto, Jacqueline A. Hodge, Gergö Popping, Sabine Thater, Elisabete da Cunha, Leindert A. Boogaard, Manuel Aravena, Takafumi Tsukui, Deanne Fisher, James McGregor, Pierre Cox, Jonathan Freundlich, Mamta Pandey-Pommier, Miguel Pereira-Santaella, Aristeidis Amvrosiadis, Vanshika Kansal. 2026-10-15. Resolving the Assembly of Disk Galaxies from the Epoch of Reionisation to Cosmic Noon. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21441

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