The baryonic and dark matter properties of high-redshift gravitationally lensed disc galaxies

We present a detailed study of the structural properties of four gravitationally lensed disc galaxies at z = 1. Modelling the rotation curves on sub-kpc scales, we derive the values for the disc mass, the reference dark matter density and core radius, and the angular momentum per unit mass. The derived models suggest that the rotation curve profile and amplitude are best fitted with a dark matter component similar to those of local spiral galaxies. The stellar component also has a similar length-scale, but with substantially smaller masses than similarly luminous disc galaxies in the local Universe. Comparing the average dark matter density inside the optical radius, we find that the disc galaxies at z = 1 have larger densities (by up to a factor of ∼7) than similar disc galaxies in the local Universe. Furthermore, the angular momentum per unit mass versus reference velocity is well matched to the local relation, suggesting that the angular momentum of the disc remains constant between high redshifts and the present day. Though statistically limited, these observations point towards a spirals' formation scenario in which stellar discs are slowly grown by the accretion of angular momentum conserving material.