The impact of hot mode accretion and angular momentum conservation on metallicity gradients of galactic discs

The hot circumgalactic medium (CGM) of a galaxy inevitably rotates more slowly than the cold gas in the disc it surrounds, due to a higher pressure support against gravity. If it accretes vertically onto the disc, angular momentum conservation leads to radial flows, advection of metals inwards and the steepening of a metallicity gradient. The observed gradient hence carries information on the kinematics of the accreting gas. Previous models built on this premise parametrised the angular momentum mismatch as a simple function of radius, constant in time, rather than derived from the properties of the CGM itself. Here, we present a semi-analytic chemical evolution model of a galaxy with a cosmologically motivated evolution, a self-consistent and time-evolving potential and an isothermal rotating CGM. The model includes inside-out formation and the radial flows induced both by the deepening of the potential well (acting on gas and stars) and by accretion, following their combined effect on the gas-phase metallicity gradient over cosmic time. We use a Bayesian framework to fit simultaneously the structural properties and metallicity gradient of a galaxy, inferring both the required inside-out growth and the CGM temperature needed to drive the required radial flows and abundance gradient. Fitting our model to the Milky Way, we find a mild preference for a subvirial corona ($T_\mathrm{CGM}/T_{200}=0.82^{+0.44}_{-0.38}$), in mild tension with observations, and we discuss possible resolutions. The predicted CGM rotation velocity lies between ~100-160 km/s at the present time and is substantially lower at earlier epochs. We further recover an evolution of the gradient over the past ~8Gyr consistent with observations. Our approach is not restricted to the Milky Way and can be directly applied to external galaxies, offering a new handle to constrain hot mode accretion onto galactic discs.