# The Accretion of Lyman Alpha Clouds onto Gas–Rich Protogalaxies; A Scenario for the Formation of Globular Star Clusters

## 1. Introduction

Globular clusters (GCs) are at once objects of interest to students of the Galaxy and to cosmologists — tothe former, as probes of galaxy formation and as dynamically pure objects of curiosity, and to the latter because of their great age, and for what they may tell us about conditions in the early Universe. Attempts to explain them have included models based on the accretion of protogalactic clumps (Searle & Zinn 1978; Searle 1980), two–phase collapse (Fall & Rees 1985; Murray et al. 1993), and cloud collisions (Murray & Lin 1989; 1993; Harris & Pudritz 1991; McLaughlin & Pudritz 1996). In this paper I suggest a dissipative scenario in which Lyman $`\alpha `$ clouds are viewed as the progenitors of the GCs.

Studies of high–redshift Lyman $`\alpha `$ clouds (e.g., Lu, Wolfe, & Turnshek 1991; Bechtold 1994) show that the high line density of clouds at $`z3`$ decreases rapidly with time. A major constituent of the Universe at high–redshift, these clouds are not likely to have disappeared without a trace. Binney (1976) first suggested that the earliest star formation in a collapsing protogalaxy would be within transient sheets of compressed gas generated by the collision of infalling gas. Much of the halo may have been created in this way. But the formation of GCs requires a more extraordinary variant of this accretion process. If clouds are centrally condensed (e.g., dark matter (DM) held), this would help them to survive the infall intact, possibly leading to a super–concentrated burst of star formation, and hence possibly a GC. The proposed GC formation scenario utilizes the kinetic energy of infall to compress clouds to densities comparable to the central regions of GCs.

Below, in referring to galaxian quantities and galactocentric distances, I use upper–case letters, and for cloud quantities, lower–case letters. When this convention isn’t applicable, I will use subscripts.

## 2. Anecdotal Evidence

Zaritsky (1995) has shown that there are abundance gradient anomalies, and asymmetries in the distribution of HI at large galactocentric radii in $`1/3`$ to $`1/2`$ of nearby spiral galaxies. This was cautiously interpreted as being the result of the accretion of low metallicity HI clouds within the last few $`\mathrm{Gyr}`$. More recently a measure of lopsidedness and anisotropy has been developed from the Fourier analysis of the surface brightness distributions of disk galaxies (Zaritsky & Rix 1997; Rudnick & Rix 1998; Jiang & Binney 1998) which has been found to correlate well with the locations of enhanced star formation and H I anomalies. These findings support the conclusions of Zaritsky’s (1995) earlier work.

A source for these apparent accretion events may have been found in a population of low redshift HI clouds, discovered in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra of low redshift quasar and active galaxy spectra (Bahcall et al. 1991; Morris et al. 1991; Morris et al. 1993, Lanzetta et al. 1995; Stocke et al. 1995; Shull, Stocke & Penton 1996; Tripp, Lu, & Savage 1998), and at redshifts out to $`z0.6`$ (Chen et al. 1998). Many of these clouds appear to be clustered about luminous ($`M_V19`$) field galaxies. Recently, Tripp et al. (1998), adding data from two QSO sightlines, have summarized recent developments, showing that of those clouds which are found within $`2h_{75}^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ of a major galaxy, most have a projected distance of less than 700 kpc. However, nearest–galaxy distances are seen to be greater than $`2h_{75}^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ for as many as $`40\%`$ of the clouds, prompting Tripp et al. (1998) to refer to this population as “void clouds”.

In a study of high velocity clouds (HVCs) in the Local Group, Blitz et al. (1998) note that the internal velocity dispersions of remote HVCs are strongly peaked, with $`\sigma 20\pm 6.5\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which argues for a generally homogeneous population that is only mildly subgalactic in its virial temperature. Their dust–to–gas ratios are at least a factor of three below that of normal Galactic clouds, and heavy–element abundances well below solar values. Wakker et al. (1998) have found that the “C” cloud, the closest HVC, has a metallicity, $`Z=0.07\pm 0.02Z_{}`$, well below what would be expected for a Galactic fountain or tidal tail. I therefore assume that these apparently infalling clouds are indeed representatives of the extragalactic Lyman $`\alpha `$ population.

It therefore seems likely that the more clustered cloud population is a major source of the impactors hypothesized by Zaritsky (1995), and others. They apparently share the same physical region occupied by dwarf galaxies that cluster about dominant field galaxies. If clouds share the kinematic characteristics of dwarfs as well, then we can expect that clouds will cluster about their primary within velocities of $`400`$ km/s (Zaritsky et al. 1997, and references therein). One reason why this might be expected is if the dwarf galaxies, and the clouds, were both representative of a single spectrum of systems that inhabit the neighborhood of giant field galaxies.

It is reasonable to propose that if there is a continuity between the nature of low, and high–redshift Lyman alpha absorption systems, then the large population of HI clouds at high–redshift may likewise have been loosely clustered about protogalaxies, and thus have been subject to accretion to the more dominant gravitational potential in their midst. At modest redshifts ($`z0.5`$), Chen et al. (1998) has found that clouds of Ly$`\alpha `$ equivalent width $`W0.3\mathrm{\AA }`$ lie at a characteristic distance of $`160h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$ ($`hH_o/100\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$), consistent with more local data (Lanzetta et al. 1995; Tripp et al. 1998). It does not seem reasonable that these clouds are rotationally supported, for the velocity dispersion of galaxies within $`5h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ of the Local Group is on the order of only $`5060\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Giraud 1986; Schlegel et al. 1994), so that clouds of extragalactic origin with tangential velocities of $`200\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ would seem to be highly unlikely. For clouds not rotationally supported, however, the infall time is only $`1/4`$ that of the look–back time to $`z0.5`$. Therefore I conclude that these clouds, and those at higher redshifts, must be being accreted to the galaxies about which they cluster, and further, the distribution must be being replenished to some significant degree since roughly the same distributions maintain at $`z0.6`$ as locally, as we have seen.

At redshifts in the range of 2 to 3, Fernandez-Soto et al. (1996) have shown that there is strong clustering within $`250\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ among clouds that have associated metal lines, while in the range, $`2.7z3.7`$, Chernormordik (1995) has found weak cloud clustering within velocity scales of $`150\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ for clouds with columns $`\mathrm{N}10^{14}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. Using cross correlations of absorption systems in double and group quasars at redshifts of $`2`$, Crotts & Fang (1989) found that, Lyman $`\alpha `$ systems with $`Wo0.4\mathrm{\AA }`$ cluster on scales as large as $`0.7(1.2)h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ for $`\mathrm{q}_{}=0.5(0.0)`$, though there is an apparent significant variation with environment.

These findings are broadly consistent with the physical association of clouds with galaxies seen at low redshift, and we may therefore postulate that high–redshift clouds may accrete to their more massive neighbors on time–scales of $`1^+\mathrm{Gyr}`$, their dissipated remains precipitating bursts of star formation.

### 2.1. The Density of GCs and Clouds

If Lyman $`\alpha `$ clouds are to cause the formation of GCs at high–redshift, then the comoving density of Lyman alpha clouds at high–redshift should be comparable to the density of GCs locally. The density of GCs can be calculated from the luminosity function and the luminosity–weighted specific globular cluster frequency, $`\mathrm{S}_\mathrm{N}N_t/L_{15}`$ (Harris & van den Bergh 1981), where $`N_t`$ is the number of GCs in the galaxy, and $`L_{15}`$ is the luminosity in units of a galaxy with $`M_V=15`$. The number density of GCs is given by the integral of the median specific GC frequency times the luminosity–weighted Schechter (1976) function. Given the parameterization, $`X=L/L^{}`$, we find the comoving density of GCs is,

$$n_{gc}=S_NL_{15}^{}X\mathrm{\Phi }(X)𝑑XS_NL_{15}^{}\mathrm{\Phi }^{},$$
(1)   
where the result follows from setting $`\alpha =1`$. I make the following substitutions: For a local sample of galaxies (central–cluster ellipticals excluded), $`S_N4`$ (Harris 1991), $`L_{15}^{}100`$ if $`M_V^{}20.0`$, and $`\mathrm{\Phi }^{}0.014h^3\mathrm{Mpc}^3`$ (Loveday et al. 1992). Thus,

$$n_{gc}5.5\mathrm{h}^3\mathrm{Mpc}^3.$$
(2)   
For clouds at high–redshift, the attributed comoving density of clouds of radius $`r_{cl}`$, and line density $`dN/dz`$ is, $`n_{cl}=\frac{dN}{dz}\left(\frac{dz/dR}{\pi r_{cl}^2(1+z)^3}\right)`$. I assume a low $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ FRW cosmology ($`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$), for which $`dz/dR\frac{H_0}{c}(1+z)^2`$, where $`H_0`$ is the Hubble constant. This yields,

$$n_{cl}\frac{dN/dz}{\pi R_or_{cl}^2(1+z)},$$
(3)   
where $`R_o=c/H_o`$. A closed model doubles the expected density when $`z=3`$.

We must decide what fiducial value to substitute for $`r_{cl}`$. A numerical simulation of high–redshift self–shielded primordial clouds, in which cold, isothermally distributed DM comprises $`90\%`$ of cloud mass (Manning 1992), showed that the clouds responsible for most absorption lines were large, just short of the size at which thermal instability from self–shielding would occur in the central regions. These clouds were found to have H I columns of $`\mathrm{Log}N=14(13)`$ at projected radii of $`20(45)h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$, and core radii on the order of $`2\mathrm{kpc}`$, and core baryonic mass of $`14\times 10^6\mathrm{M}_{}`$). They have idealized thermally broadened velocity dispersions in the range of $`\sigma 1722\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Meanwhile, Shull et al. (1996) have estimated the radii of local clouds to be $`100\mathrm{kpc}`$ at columns of $`N10^{13}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, and Blitz et al. (1998) have found the upper limit cloud radius, constrained by the tidal field of the Local Group, to be $`25`$ kpc at columns of $`N10^{19}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. While these figures may make the simulated cloud sizes at high–redshift seem low, the 50–fold drop in the far–UV metagalactic flux at the Lyman limit from its value at $`z=2.5`$ (Haardt & Madau 1996) will help to account for this apparent disparity in absorption cross section. In a study of the lensed quasar $`Q2345+007`$A,B, Foltz et al. (1984) have placed a lower limit on the characteristic $`diameters`$ of clouds at $`z=1.95`$ of $`525`$ kpc (the uncertainty stems from the unknown redshift of the lens). These values simply reflect the range of possible distances between beams. However, a Monte Carlo analysis of the correlated absorption systems in the spectra of Q$`1343+2640`$A, B (Dinshaw et al. 1994), which has a similar ratio of “hits” to “misses” (h/m$`2`$), found an inferred cloud diameter 2.5 times that of the median beam separation. If this correction is applied to the Foltz et al. (1984) data, the cloud range in $`radii`$ becomes $`7.562.5h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$. However, recent work correlating absorption systems of double and group quasars (e.g., Fang et al. 1996; Crotts & Fang 1998) find much larger values (typically few$`\times `$100s of kpc), but it is not clear that these are large individual clouds rather than the larger–scale clustering of much smaller individual clouds that we have been discussing, which could be expected to give “cloud diameters” of from $`300500h^1`$ kpc, depending on the equivalent widths probed and the method of analysis – consistent with their results.

For high redshift clouds ($`z23`$) I adopt a fiducial radius of 25 $`h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$ for individual H I clouds at columns of $`\mathrm{Log}N14`$. A line density of $`d\mathrm{N}/d\mathrm{z}100`$ at a redshift of $`z3`$ is assumed, based on data normalized to an equivalent width limit of $`W_o=0.24\mathrm{\AA }`$ (Weymann et al. 1998), which, for $`\mathrm{T}2\times 10^4`$K, is quite close to a column density, $`N=10^{14}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. Substituting these values into Eq. 3, we find,

$$n_{cl}(z=3)4.2\mathrm{h}^3\mathrm{Mpc}^3.$$
(4)   
For $`\mathrm{\Omega }=1`$, $`n_{cl}=8.4\mathrm{h}^3\mathrm{Mpc}^3`$. Comparison of Eqs. 2 and 4 shows $`n_{gc}n_{cl}`$. If there is a $`spectrum`$ of cloud sizes (I find the largest dominated the absorption line–density), then since cloud number density, $`n_{cl}r^2`$ (Eq. 3), the total number density of clouds may be significantly larger, which may help the numbers to look better for open cosmologies. Also, if replenishment is occurring at high–redshift by the condensation of clouds in voids and subsequent movement toward neighboring galaxies, then the total number of potential impactors could be substantially greater than estimated above.

## 3. The Physical Requirements for Cloud Survival

For a modest sized protogalaxy, the infall velocities of an intergalactic cloud can be expected to be in excess of 60 km/sec. In order to form a cluster, therefore, some small fraction of the plunging cloud must survive the supersonic shock in a compact form. Numerical simulations of homogeneous clouds subjected to interstellar shocks have found that clouds are destroyed on time scales of a sound crossing time (e.g., Klein, McKee & Colella 1994; Murakami & Ikeuchi 1993). However, numerical studies of the survival of intergalactic, cold dark matter–held, “mini–halo” clouds (Rees 1986) subjected to supersonic flows (Murakami & Ikeuchi 1994) have shown that the cores of clouds confined by a dark halo may survive extended periods of exposure to supersonic wind as long as the central cloud density exceeds that of the ambient medium through which it passes. In the context of accretion to a galaxy, this will require that the central density of the cloud should increase in time in order that it may survive the increasing densities it will encounter as it falls inward. This in turn will require cooling. For a stable compression process, therefore, the cooling time scale, $`\tau _c`$, must remain smaller than the time–scale for the increase in the ambient protogalaxy gas density, $`\tau _d`$, at each stage of the cloud’s journey. The timescale for change of density is expressible by the equation,

$$\tau _d=\left(\frac{1}{\rho }\frac{\rho }{t}\right)^1.$$
(5)   
I presume, for the sake of simplicity, that the gas and the DM are distributed in an isothermal profile with density law, $`\rho =𝒦/(4\pi R^2)`$, where $`R`$ is the galactocentric distance, and $`𝒦`$ is a unit of mass per unit length. $`𝒦`$ will be referred to as the system mass–distribution constant. For an $`L^{}`$ galaxy, $`𝒦=𝒦^{}1.14\times 10^7\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^1`$. I also presume that the distribution is truncated at a distance $`R_t`$. Then for $`R<R_t`$, $`M(R)=𝒦R`$, and for $`R>R_t`$, $`M(R)=𝒦R_t`$. Manipulating Eq. 5, we find,

$$\tau _d=\frac{R}{2v_i},$$
(6)   
where $`v_i`$ is the infall velocity. With the assumed mass distribution, we can calculate the potential:

$$\mathrm{\Phi }(R<R_t)=G𝒦\left(ln\left(\frac{R_t}{R}\right)+\left(1\frac{R_t}{R_0}\right)\right),$$
(7)   
where $`R_0`$ is the location, presumed in this case to be $`2`$ Mpc, of the turn–around radius, and at which the potential is set to zero. $`R_t`$ is assumed to be 500 kpc for an $`L^{}`$–type object. Conservation of energy requires that the infall velocity be given by the equation, $`v_i(R<R_t)\sqrt{2\mathrm{\Phi }(R<R_t)}`$ the inequality stemming from dissipative effects. Substituting this into Eq. 6, and using the value, $`𝒦^{}`$ (above), we find that the timescale for change of density is,

$$\tau _d1.38\times 10^8\left(\frac{R_{kpc}}{160}\right)\mathrm{yr},$$
(8)   
where $`R_{kpc}`$ is the galactocentric radius in kiloparsecs. At a distance of $`15`$ kpc $`\tau _d1.3\times 10^7`$ yr.

Dissipation is expected to begin in earnest at an estimated galactocentric distance of $`160h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$, for that is the projected distance at which lines of sight encounter EWs of $`0.3\AA `$, or columns of $`10^{14}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ (Chen et al. 1998). It will be important that the rate of cooling keep pace with the time–scale for compaction. I assume that dissipation balances the rate of change the cloud potential energy so that the velocity remains at a constant $`50\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Thus we have,

$$v\frac{GM}{R^2}_V\rho _{cl}𝑑V=n^2kT\beta _B_V𝑑V,$$
(9)   
where we will insert values for an $`L^{}`$ galaxy, and cloud baryonic density, $`\rho _{cl}=n\mu m_H`$. The case B recombination cooling coefficient may be expressed as, $`\beta _B=9.17\times 10^{14}(T/20000)^{0.5}\mathrm{cm}^3\mathrm{s}^1`$. From this relation and Eq. 9, we derive,

$$T=\frac{1.127\times 10^4}{n^{2/3}}\left(\frac{15}{R_{kpc}}\right)\mathrm{K}.$$
(10)   
The cooling time–scale of the cloud can be defined,

$$\tau _c=\frac{\frac{3}{2}nkT}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}.$$
(11)   
With $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=n^2kT\beta _B`$, we find

$$\tau _c\left(\frac{2.313\times 10^{15}}{nT^{1/2}}\right)\mathrm{s}.$$
(12)   
Combining Eqs. 10 and 12 we find,

$$\tau _c=\frac{6.9\times 10^5}{n^{2/3}}\left(\frac{R_{kpc}}{15}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{yr}.$$
(13)   
The pressures behind the head of the bow shock will result in baryon densities $`\rho _{cl}4^2\rho _{gal}(R)(T_{gal}/T_{cl})`$ during the compressonal stage, where $``$ is the Mach number, expected to range up to $`10`$. Assuming an $`L^{}`$ galaxy, at $`R15\mathrm{kpc}`$, and assuming $`90\%`$ DM, then the galactic baryon number density is, $`n_{gal}10^2`$. Thus, we may expect $`n1`$, and should eventually reach densities of order $`10^4\mathrm{cm}^3`$. This will assure that $`\tau _c`$ is much less than $`\tau _d`$.

For galactocentric radii of interest, the cooling time scale within the core of the cloud appears to be comfortably less than $`\tau _d`$. During the final stages of accretion, another term must be added to Eq. 9 to represent the deceleration of the cloud. This will compensate for the decline of the first term, leading to only modest changes in the derived cooling time–scale. It must be emphasized that there *should* be a comfortable gap between $`\tau _d`$ and $`\tau _c`$, for we don’t expect real galaxies to have entirely smooth density profiles.

## 4. The Mechanism for Cloud Compaction

In order to satisfy the requirements that these events produce globular clusters, the cloud must be compressed to densities comparable to, or in excess of that found in globular cluster cores. Powered by the kinetic energy of the cloud, the combination of pressurization and radiative cooling is capable of compacting the cloud. In this section I discuss three important facets of the GC formation scenario.

### 4.1. Dynamical Features of the Interaction

Let us now suppose that a centrally condensed cloud (core $`35\mathrm{kpc}`$ diameter, is drawn into the potential well of a gas–rich protogalaxy. When the cloud begins to encounter the dissipated gaseous halo at velocities of $``$Mach 10, a bow shock is established, forming a shocked shell about the cloud. In the frame of the shock, galactic gas is quickly decelerated by the shock within this shell, imparting a momentum to the infalling cloud. Only gas of density comparable to that of the wind is stripped— a result of the small mean free path in relation to cloud size — while the dense core is found to survive in excess of $`3\mathrm{Gyr}`$ (Murakami & Ikeuchi 1994). Accordingly, we should expect only the core to survive intact, carrying $`\mathrm{few}\times 10^6\mathrm{M}_{}`$ of baryons, as noted in §2.1, in the range of $`10^25\times 10^4`$ of the total cloud baryonic mass. The shocked and stripped remainder, much of which would be caught up in eddies, may participate in star formation in the manner suggested by Binney (1976), contributing to the halo population at relatively low efficiencies. The remnants of this would settle toward the disk.

While the DM component is thought to play an important role in containing the cloud in the IGM (Blitz et al. 1998; Shull et al. 1996), once the ram pressure, integrated over the surface of the cloud, exceeds the maximum force between the baryonic cloud and the DM cloud, the DM halo would be lost. This is expected to occur in the early stages of intense dissipation, at distances less than $`160h^1\mathrm{kpc}`$ (see §3). When the deceleration on the cloud begins to dwarf its self–gravity, the cloud will shift and compress to approximate an exponential atmosphere with a scale–height determined by the deceleration rate, which in turn will heat the cloud.

Within this environment, two forces act upon the cloud which tend to induce vorticity, a shift of the higher density gas within the cloud toward the shock front, displacing lower density gas toward the side, and the shear force due to the stripping flow inside the bow shock. While by itself, molecular viscosity is not sufficient to appreciably effect the vorticity, a turbulent viscosity will be produced. The shock will stand off from the cloud due to the high pressures immediately behind the shock, but the dense, cool cloud immediately “downstream” of this region will be subject to Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities since cloud deceleration will result in denser material overlying less dense material. As these perturbations grow they will become subject to the shear flow closer to the shock, transforming them into Kelvin-Helmholtz (K–H) instabilities. These instabilities would continue to grow along the “fetch” of the interface of galactic and cloud gas, causing a turbulent viscosity and an increased transferral of angular momentum to the cloud. The combined effect of these forces would be to induce vorticity into a torroidal volume whose axis is aligned with the vector of the cloud’s motion. During the stage of intense dissipation, it is better to compare it to an inverted convection cell than to a vortex ring, for unlike the vortex ring, the cloud is contained from without by the shock and by the deceleration, rather than from within by a vacuum.

During the final stage of intense dissipation, the increased deceleration means that gas which has been stripped need not be irrevocably lost to the cloud. Two factors are responsible: 1) stripped material will be pushed toward the central axis of motion at $``$sonic speeds because of the near vacuum behind the cloud, 2) the deceleration of the cloud will result in a relative (negative) acceleration between the stripped material and the shock front. The re–accretion of this gas to the cloud would reinforce the pattern of motion established in the early adjustment of the cloud. It is an important feature of this scenario that the stripped, and eventually re-incorporated material will contain metals present in the protogalaxy, which have been mixed with cloud gas by K–H instabilities. The well–established observational constraint that the metallicity in almost all GCs is uniform to within 0.05 dex (Suntzeff 1993), requires that turbulent mixing should occur well before star formation begins (Murray and Lin 1993). In this scenario, the enhancement of the metallicity, and the mixing, occur as a result of the natural dissipative process of accretion outlined above, comfortably preceding fragmentation (see §4.4).

### 4.2. The Stability of the Plunging Cloud

The modeling of intergalactic clouds held by DM (see §2.1) indicates they may be centrally condensed. Furthermore, centrally condensed clouds have been found to survive shocks (Murakami & Ikeuchi 1994). Therefore, if this model of Lyman-$`\alpha `$clouds is correct, they should be expected to survive the gentle onset of ram pressure. The vorticity induced by the shear flow inside the shock does not appear to be a destabilizing influence, because the cloud is contained by the shock shell and by deceleration, as described above. However, when the cloud decelerates to subsonic velocities, it will evolve toward an ordinary, albiet large, vortex ring. Here, the orderliness of the motion will be critical in determining the length of time the cell should survive. Studies of vortex rings at relatively high Reynolds numbers show that sinusoidal bending modes may grow, and eventually destroy the ring (Widnall & Sullivan 1974). However, these modes, whose number are few when vorticity is widely distributed, would be damped by the shock which wraps around the cell during the period of intense dissipation, but may grow after it is no longer supersonic. At the very minimum, the cell will survive for an eddy turn–over time, given that the ordered motion will produce a vacuum in a ring which will cause the self–induced motion characteristic of vortex rings. For a cell of dimension $`10`$ pc, the eddy turn–over time is,

$$\tau _e7.6\times 10^5\left(\frac{c_s}{v}\right)\mathrm{yr},$$
(14)   
where $`v`$ is the peak tangential velocity of the vortex cell. The self-inducing motion of the vortex ring is likely to cause it to last many times greater than this. However, accurate estimates of this must await a careful numerical simulation, as energy and time–scale arguments are held hostage to uncertainties in the levels of turbulent viscosity during the stage of intense dissipation.

### 4.3. Energetic Requirements for Cloud Compression

If radiative cooling can keep pace with heating, we may assume isothermal pressurization. If the cloud core has a baryonic mass of $`m_{cl}`$, an initial baryonic density of $`\rho _i`$, and a final density of $`\rho _f`$, the required work for compression is,

$$W=m_{cl}c_s^2ln\left(\frac{\rho _f}{\rho _i}\right).$$
(15)   
Values for $`W`$ are insensitive to variations by factors of a few in the initial or final densities. Equating this work to the kinetic energy of the cloud core we find that the required infall velocity $`v_i`$, is given by,

$$v_i=c_s\sqrt{2ln(\rho _f/\rho _i)},$$
(16)   
where $`c_s`$ is the sound speed of the cloud core. For a final density equal to that of the median Galactic globular cluster core densitiy, $`10^3\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^3`$ (Djorgovski 1993), a factor of compression in the range of $`10^{68}`$ is expected, and yields a required infall velocity, $`v_i/c_s5.06.0`$. For a temperature of $`2.0\times 10^4`$ K, the minimum required infall velocity is $`6075`$ km/s, a velocity attainable even in dwarf systems (see e.g., Wyse & Silk 1985).

### 4.4. The Transformation of Cloud to Cluster

The final stage of the transformation is reached when the velocity approaches subsonic levels. During the supersonic period of dissipation we expect that the cloud size will be decreasing – not so much due to stripping, but because of its compaction. When the ram pressure, $`\rho v^2`$, begins to decline, the cell will gradually transform from one contained by the shock shell to one contained by its own vorticity. This will be occassioned by some expansion, and as it expands, the cloud deceleration will increase, leading to a relatively rapid change of state. Though the density of the surrounding medium should by this time be rather large, it is likely — indeed it is imperative — that the density in the central axis of the vortex ring should be orders of magnitude greater. The disappearance of the shock will allow the rapid cooling of cloud gas at the head of the shock, where it is densest. Yet the pressure on this gas is sustained by pressures from all directions: the gas near the axis is subjected to an axially symmetric centrifugal force from the vortex ring; toward the host galaxy there remains the ram pressure of the cloud at near sonic velocities; and finally, pressure is exerted by material which has been stripped, but is re–joining its cloud, now falling with increased velocity due to the increased deceleration.

To assess the plausibility and efficiency of star formation at this point we need to know the collapse time–scale for gas at the expected densities, the transit–time scale for gas in the axis of the vortex, and some notion of the duration of the vortex cell, which is responsible for maintaining the radial pressure along the axis of the cell. The time–scale for cloud collapse is,

$$\tau _{coll}1/\sqrt{G\rho }4.7\times 10^5\mathrm{yr},$$
(17)   
for the central density cited in §4.3. The time–scale for transit down an axis of $`10`$ pc is $`\tau _e`$, given by Eq. 14, where, by assumption, $`v<c_s`$. As the cell is slowed, this velocity will fall, in time providing a sure opportunity for gravitational collapse. Note that the cooling time–scale (Eq. 13) for baryon densities of order the central GC densities ($`n_{cl}4\times 10^4\mathrm{cm}^3`$) is well within these time–scales. The cell itself should be stable for well over an eddy turn–over time–scale (Eq. 14), in keeping with the large durations of more modest–sized vortex rings which may travel distances that are many times their diameters (Widnall & Sullivan 1973) before disruptionl. A more severe threat to the survival of the vortex cell is condensation of gas and star formation, but by then, we don’t care.

Star formation rates, and efficiencies are now of concern. In a study of 97 normal, and star–forming galaxies, Kennicutt (1977) found that the disk–averaged star formation rates were found to fit to a Schmidt (1959) law with index $`N=1.4\pm 0.15`$. It was found that,

$$\mathrm{\Sigma }_{SFR}=(2.5\pm 0.7)\times 10^4\left(\frac{\mathrm{\Sigma }_{gas}}{1\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^2}\right)^{1.4\pm 0.15}\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{yr}^1\mathrm{kpc}^2.$$
(18)   
If we imagine gas with a density equal to peak central GC densities (§4.3), distributed over a 10 pc cube, then the indicative star formation density is $`0.25\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{yr}^1\mathrm{pc}^2`$, and would yield $`1.25\times 10^7\mathrm{M}_{}`$ within a plausible time-scale of $`5\times 10^5\mathrm{yr}`$, a mass larger than the $`10^6\mathrm{M}_{}`$ contained in the cube. Star formation efficiency would vary with index $`N1`$, or, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{gas}^{0.4}`$. At projected final cloud densities, this implies star formation efficiencies $`40`$ times greater than that of a normal disk with a gas surface density of $`1\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^2`$. This would rival that of central starbursts (Kennicutt 1977).

## 5. Implications for Field Galaxy Formation

A model in which galaxies are subjected to periodic accretion of low metallicity clouds is consistent with the “chaotic” scenario of galaxy formation of Searle & Zinn (1978), and Searle (1980), now often referred to as hierarchical structure formation. The GC formation scenario requires a picture in which galaxy growth is a protracted process. That the accretors are probably DM–held, and generally relaxed, seems required by the specific scenario developed here. Shull et al. (1996) estimate that these clouds have a total mass (baryons plus DM) of $`M_{tot}=10^{9.8}\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{R}_{100}\mathrm{T}_{4.3}`$, where $`R_{100}`$ is the radius in units of 100 kpc at which the column density of neutral hydrogen is $`10^{13}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ , and $`T`$ is in units of $`10^{4.3}\mathrm{K}`$. This value is consistent with a mass distribution constant, $`𝒦10^5\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^1`$, with a circular velocity $`v_c20\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, as observed by Blitz et al. (1998). Somewhat smaller clouds may also be realistic.

The accretion of such a cloud would produce great turbulence. Might there be low–redshift counterparts of proto–late–type galaxies? High resolution VLA observations of 5 actively star forming blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) reveal kinematically distinct clumps of H I, and turbulent outer H I envelopes (on scales of a few$`\times `$100 pc). This is broadly suggestive of the accretion of H I clouds. That the median gas depletion time scale is on the order of 1 $`\mathrm{Gyr}`$ also argues for extragalactic replenishment. Thus these young galaxies may resemble our Galaxy in its earliest formative stages. It is easily seen that the accretion of one or two hundred clouds of $`10^{9.8}\mathrm{M}_{}`$ can account for the total mass of an $`L^{}`$ galaxy within $`R_{gc}100\mathrm{kpc}`$.

While the formation of GCs is somewhat incidental to the process of galaxy formation as outlined above, yet they remain potentially sensitive probes of the state of the Galaxy at its early formative stages. The GC formation scenario suggests that among the requirements for cluster formation are two constraints on the (proto)galaxy – that it must have a large gas column density, and a mass distribution constant large enough to support required circular velocities of $`40\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, a value somewhat below that characteristic of dwarf spiral galaxies. The former follows by the observation that ram pressure must slow the cloud to subsonic velocities: $`\rho _{gal}v^2S(t)𝑑tm_{cl}(t)\frac{d\mathrm{\Phi }(t)}{dR}𝑑t`$, where $`\rho _{gal}`$ is the galaxy baryon density, $`S(t)`$ is the cloud surface area, and stripping will reduce the cloud baryonic mass, $`m_{cl}`$, in time. Alternatively,

$$_{R_o}^R\rho _{gal}(R)v(R)S(R)𝑑R_{R_o}^R\frac{GM(R)m_{cl}(R)}{R^2}𝑑R.$$

A detailed numerical simulation will be required to properly evaluate these integrals, but clearly, if the column of galactic gas, $`\rho (R)\pi r_{cl}^2(R)𝑑R`$ is too small, then the equation cannot be met. The mass–distribution requirement, together with the equation, $`V_{rot}=\sqrt{G𝒦}`$, is essentially that $`𝒦1.2\times 10^6\mathrm{M}_{}\mathrm{pc}^1`$. This threshold for GC formation results from the observation that an infall velocity of $`60\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which is at the lower end of the range satisfying the energetic requirements for cloud compression, is $`\sqrt{2}`$ times the circular velocity at that distance. Once the galaxy mass is great enough, GCs would be formed. However, in response to an increased specific star formation rate accompanying the formation of the bulge and the disk, the gas column should decrease, signaling an end of the halo and GC formation epoch. During the stage of this retreat, we would expect that, if it relaxed into a thick, slowly rotating disk, then GCs would have a lower probability of being formed if the cloud were plunging normal to the disk, due to the lower gas columns. Thus, the metal–rich “disk” globulars, with their flattened distribution (Armandroff 1993), and the thick disk itself, may be evidence favoring this interpretation.

## 6. Implications for Cosmology

While the redshifts of formation implied by this scenario may strike the reader as quite low, recent findings, largely based on *Hipparcos* data, the inclusion of helium diffusion into the cores of stars, and an improved equation of state, yield new distance determinations based on the main sequence turnoff, which in turn imply that the oldest globular clusters may be much closer to $`12\mathrm{Gyr}`$ old. This is a $`20\%`$ reduction from pre-*Hipparcos* values (for a recent review, see Chaboyer 1998). If we allow that these oldest GCs were formed at $`z=3`$, then given this GC age, we may derive $`H_o`$ as a function of cosmology. Accordingly, we find that if $`\mathrm{\Omega }=1`$, we would require $`H_o=47.7\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$. If $`\mathrm{\Omega }=0`$, $`H_o=61.3\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$. For a flat $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ model with $`\lambda =0.7`$, $`H_o=67.8\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$. If the formation epoch instead were at $`z4`$, then the attributed Hubble constant is increased by less than $`6.5\%`$ for all three models.

It has been reported that GCs may have a significant range of ages. Recent estimates are in the range of $`5\mathrm{Gyr}`$ (Fusi-Pecci et al. 1995; Chaboyer, Demarque & Sarajedini 1996). Using standard astrophysical formulae, I find that the range of time between the plausible redshift range $`z=1.53`$, the expected range of GC formation redshifts, is, 1.79, 2.44 and 2.20 $`\mathrm{Gyr}`$ respectively for the $`\mathrm{\Omega }=1`$, 0, and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.7`$ cosmologies, where for self–consistency I have used the specific value of $`H_o`$ derived for each case. These ranges are smaller than the observed value cited above, but not so much as to cause alarm at this early stage.

## 7. Conclusion

High resolution HST spectra at low redshift have disclosed the existence of a surprisingly large population of Lyman $`\alpha `$ clouds, most of which are thought to be clustered within 2 $`h_{75}^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ of bright field galaxies. The juxtaposition of evidence for cloud clustering, and for major accretion events of low metallicity gas onto large field galaxies, suggests a *causal* relationship. By following the commonalities of cloud clustering among the low–redshift population out to high–redshift, it becomes clear that clouds at high–redshift certainly had the opportunity to accrete to the protogalaxies about which they are thought to cluster. The dramatic disappearance of Lyman $`\alpha `$ clouds at high–redshifts provides the link between the clustering of clouds and the heightened star formation rates in field galaxies seen at $`z13`$ (Madau et al. 1998). It is suggested that the central regions of many of these clouds might plausibly have been transformed into GCs, while the less–strongly held gas may have contributed to the formation of the stellar halo. It has been shown that the energetics of cloud compression are favorable, as are the numerical coincidences of the comoving densities of GCs, and clouds at high–redshift. The juxtaposition of the projected redshifts of formation with new globular cluster ages implies values of $`H_o`$ that are reasonable. However, the predicted cosmology-specific age range of GCs appears to be lower than recent work would imply. This interesting fact promises to be a goad to stimulate future work.

I would like to thank the anonymous referee for many comments and suggestions that have improved this paper. In addition, I thank Hyron Spinrad, Daniel Stern, Christopher F. McKee, Robert Fisher, and Dean McLaughlin for helpful suggestions during the planning and production of this paper.