Accretion-driven turbulence in the circumgalactic medium

ABSTRACT Simulations suggest that turbulence is ubiquitous in the circumgalactic medium (CGM), though the source and properties of CGM turbulence is uncertain. Using analytic considerations and hydrodynamic simulations, we study how CGM turbulence is driven by gas accretion, thus providing a baseline for additional turbulence driving processes such as galaxy feedback. We demonstrate that in haloes with mass $\sim 10^{10}-10^{12}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ at $0\,\lt\, z\,\lt\,2$, accretion amplifies mild turbulent velocities near the virial radius of $\sigma _{\rm t}(R_{\rm vir})\sim 10\, {\rm km}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$ to virial velocities at inner CGM radii, $\sigma _{\rm t}(0.1R_{\rm vir})\approx v_{\rm vir}\sim 100\, {\rm km}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$. Rapid cooling at these inner radii further implies that thermal pressure support is small, and the gas is dominated by the cool and warm ($\sim 10^4-10^5\, {\rm K}$) phases. Inner CGM energetics in these haloes is thus dominated by turbulence, with gas density distributions and velocity structure functions similar to those seen in simulations of isothermal supersonic turbulence, rather than those seen in subsonically turbulent stratified media such as the intracluster medium. The accretion rate in these systems is regulated by the turbulence dissipation rate, in contrast with being regulated by the cooling rate as in more massive haloes. We argue that galaxy feedback is unlikely to qualitatively change our conclusions unless it significantly depletes the CGM or continuously injects high specific energy material ($\gg v^2_{\rm vir}$). Such ‘turbulence-dominated’ CGM can be identified in observations via the predicted wide lognormal ionization distributions and large velocity dispersions in ultraviolet absorption spectra.