Formation of elongated galaxies with low masses at high redshift

We report the identification of elongated (triaxial or prolate) galaxies in cosmological simulations at z ≃ 2. These are preferentially low-mass galaxies (M_* ≤ 10^9.5 M_⊙), residing in dark matter (DM) haloes with strongly elongated inner parts, a common feature of high-redshift DM haloes in the Λ cold dark matter cosmology. Feedback slows formation of stars at the centres of these haloes, so that a dominant and prolate DM distribution gives rise to galaxies elongated along the DM major axis. As galaxies grow in stellar mass, stars dominate the total mass within the galaxy half-mass radius, making stars and DM rounder and more oblate. A large population of elongated galaxies produces a very asymmetric distribution of projected axis ratios, as observed in high-z galaxy surveys. This indicates that the majority of the galaxies at high redshifts are not discs or spheroids but rather galaxies with elongated morphologies.