ALBERT

Description: We present an implementation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with improved accuracy for simulations of galaxies and the large-scale structure. In particular, we implement and test a vast majority of SPH improvement in the developer version of gadget -3. We use the Wendland kernel functions, a particle wake-up time-step limiting mechanism and a time-dependent scheme for artificial viscosity including high-order gradient computation and shear flow limiter. Additionally, we include a novel prescription for time-dependent artificial conduction, which corrects for gravitationally induced pressure gradients and improves the SPH performance in capturing the development of gas-dynamical instabilities. We extensively test our new implementation in a wide range of hydrodynamical standard tests including weak and strong shocks as well as shear flows, turbulent spectra, gas mixing, hydrostatic equilibria and self-gravitating gas clouds. We jointly employ all modifications; however, when necessary we study the performance of individual code modules. We approximate hydrodynamical states more accurately and with significantly less noise than standard gadget -SPH. Furthermore, the new implementation promotes the mixing of entropy between different fluid phases, also within cosmological simulations. Finally, we study the performance of the hydrodynamical solver in the context of radiative galaxy formation and non-radiative galaxy cluster formation. We find galactic discs to be colder and more extended and galaxy clusters showing entropy cores instead of steadily declining entropy profiles. In summary, we demonstrate that our improved SPH implementation overcomes most of the undesirable limitations of standard gadget -SPH, thus becoming the core of an efficient code for large cosmological simulations.

Description: The ever increasing size and complexity of data coming from simulations of cosmic structure formation demand equally sophisticated tools for their analysis. During the past decade, the art of object finding in these simulations has hence developed into an important discipline itself. A multitude of codes based upon a huge variety of methods and techniques have been spawned yet the question remained as to whether or not they will provide the same (physical) information about the structures of interest. Here we summarize and extent previous work of the ‘halo finder comparison project’: we investigate in detail the (possible) origin of any deviations across finders. To this extent, we decipher and discuss differences in halo-finding methods, clearly separating them from the disparity in definitions of halo properties. We observe that different codes not only find different numbers of objects leading to a scatter of up to 20 per cent in the halo mass and V max function, but also that the particulars of those objects that are identified by all finders differ. The strength of the variation, however, depends on the property studied, e.g. the scatter in position, bulk velocity, mass and the peak value of the rotation curve is practically below a few per cent, whereas derived quantities such as spin and shape show larger deviations. Our study indicates that the prime contribution to differences in halo properties across codes stems from the distinct particle collection methods and – to a minor extent – the particular aspects of how the procedure for removing unbound particles is implemented. We close with a discussion of the relevance and implications of the scatter across different codes for other fields such as semi-analytical galaxy formation models, gravitational lensing and observables in general.

Description: We present an on-the-fly geometrical approach for shock detection and Mach number calculation in simulations employing smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). We utilize pressure gradients to select shock candidates and define up- and downstream positions. We obtain hydrodynamical states in the up- and downstream regimes with a series of normal and inverted kernel weightings parallel and perpendicular to the shock normals. Our on-the-fly geometrical Mach detector incorporates well within the SPH formalism and has low computational cost. We implement our Mach detector into the simulation code gadget and alongside many SPH improvements. We test our shock finder in a sequence of shock tube tests with successively increasing Mach numbers exceeding by far the typical values inside galaxy clusters. For all shocks, we resolve the shocks well and the correct Mach numbers are assigned. An application to a strong magnetized shock tube gives stable results in full magnetohydrodynamic setups. We simulate a merger of two idealized galaxy clusters and study the shock front. Shock structures within the merging clusters as well as the cluster shock are well captured by our algorithm and assigned correct Mach numbers.

Description: We use a set of hydrodynamical and dark matter-only (DMonly) simulations to calibrate the halo mass function (HMF). We explore the impact of baryons, propose an improved parametrization for spherical overdensity masses, and identify differences between our DMonly HMF and previously published HMFs. We use the Magneticum simulations, which are well suited because of their accurate treatment of baryons, high resolution, and large cosmological volumes of up to (3818 Mpc) 3 . Baryonic effects globally decrease the masses of galaxy clusters, which, at a given mass, results in a decrease of their number density. This effect vanishes at high redshift z ~ 2 and for high masses M 200 m 10 14 M . We perform cosmological analyses of three idealized approximations to the cluster surveys by the South Pole Telescope (SPT), Planck , and eROSITA. We pursue two main questions. (1) What is the impact of baryons? – for the SPT-like and the Planck -like samples, the impact of baryons on cosmological results is negligible. In the eROSITA-like case, however, neglecting the baryonic impact leads to an underestimate of m by about 0.01, which is comparable to the expected uncertainty from eROSITA. (2) How does our DMonly HMF compare with previous work? – for the Planck -like sample, results obtained using our DMonly HMF are shifted by ( 8 ) ~= ( 8 ( m /0.27) 0.3 ) ~= 0.02 with respect to results obtained using the Tinker et al. fit. This suggests that using our HMF would shift results from Planck clusters towards better agreement with cosmic-microwave-background anisotropy measurements. Finally, we discuss biases that can be introduced through inadequate HMF parametrizations that introduce false cosmological sensitivity.

Description: In large-scale cosmological hydrodynamic simulations simplified sub-grid models for gas accretion on to black holes and AGN feedback are commonly used. Such models typically depend on various free parameters, which are not well constrained. We present a new advanced model containing a more detailed description of AGN feedback, where those parameters reflect the results of recent observations. The model takes the dependence of these parameters on the black hole properties into account and describes a continuous transition between the feedback processes acting in the so-called radio-mode and quasar-mode. In addition, we implement a more detailed description of the accretion of gas on to black holes by distinguishing between hot and cold gas accretion. Our new implementations prevent black holes from gaining too much mass, particularly at low redshifts, so that our simulations are successful in reproducing the observed present-day black hole mass function. Our new model also suppresses star formation in massive galaxies slightly more efficiently than many state-of-the-art models. Therefore, the simulations that include our new implementations produce a more realistic population of quiescent and star-forming galaxies compared to recent observations, even if some discrepancies remain. In addition, the baryon conversion efficiencies in our simulation are – except for the high-mass end – consistent with observations presented in the literature over the mass range resolved by our simulations. Finally, we discuss the significant impact of the feedback model on the low-luminous end of the AGN luminosity function.

Description: We present a model for the seeding and evolution of magnetic fields in protogalaxies. Supernova (SN) explosions during the assembly of a protogalaxy self-consistently provide magnetic seed fields, which are subsequently amplified by compression, shear flows and random motions. Our model explains the origin of strong magnetic fields of μG amplitude within the first star-forming protogalactic structures shortly after the first stars have formed. We implement the model into the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) version of the cosmological N -body/smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation code gadget and couple the magnetic seeding directly to the underlying multi-phase description of star formation. We perform simulations of Milky-Way-like galactic halo formation using a standard CDM cosmology and analyse the strength and distribution of the subsequent evolving magnetic field. Within star-forming regions and given typical dimensions and magnetic field strengths in canonical SN remnants, we inject a dipole-shaped magnetic field at a rate of 10 –9  G Gyr –1 . Subsequently, the magnetic field strength increases exponentially on time-scales of a few tens of millions of years within the innermost regions of the halo. Furthermore, turbulent diffusion, shocks and gas motions transport the magnetic field towards the halo outskirts. At redshift z 0, the entire galactic halo is magnetized and the field amplitude is of the order of a few μG in the centre of the halo and 10 –9  G at the virial radius. Additionally, we analyse the intrinsic rotation measure (RM) of the forming galactic halo over a range of redshift. The mean halo intrinsic RM peaks between redshifts z 4 and z 2 and reaches absolute values around 1000 rad m –2 . While the halo virializes towards redshift z 0, the intrinsic RM values decline to a mean value below 10 rad m –2 . At high redshifts, the distribution of individual star-forming and thus magnetized regions is widespread. This leads to a widespread distribution of large intrinsic RM values. In our model for the evolution of galactic magnetic fields, the seed magnetic field amplitude and distribution are no longer free parameters, but determined self-consistently by the star formation process occurring during the formation of cosmic structures. Thus, this model provides a solution to the seed field problem.

Description: In this paper, we carry out a detailed analysis of the performance of two different methods to identify the diffuse stellar light in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters. One method is based on a dynamical analysis of the stellar component, which separates the brightest central galaxy (BCG) from the stellar component not gravitationally bound to any galaxy, what we call ’diffuse stellar component’ (DSC). The second method is closer to techniques commonly employed in observational studies. We generate mock images from simulations, and assume a standard surface brightness limit (SBL) to disentangle the BCG from the intra-cluster light (ICL). Both the dynamical method and the method based on the SBL criterion are applied to the same set of hydrodynamical simulations for a large sample of about 80 galaxy clusters. We analyse two sets of radiative simulations: a first set includes the effect of cooling, star formation, chemical enrichment and galactic outflows triggered by supernova feedback (CSF set); a second one also includes the effect of thermal feedback from active galactic nuclei triggered by gas accretion on to supermassive black holes (AGN set). We find significant differences between the ICL and DSC fractions computed with the two corresponding methods, which amounts to about a factor of 2 for the AGN simulations, and a factor of 4 for the CSF set. We also find that the inclusion of AGN feedback boosts the DSC and ICL fractions by a factor of 1.5–2, respectively, while leaving the BCG+ICL and BCG+DSC mass fraction almost unchanged. The sum of the BCG and DSC mass stellar mass fraction is found to decrease from ~80 per cent in galaxy groups to ~60 per cent in rich clusters, thus in excess of that found from observational analysis. We identify the average SBLs that yield the ICL fraction from the SBL method close to the DSC fraction from the dynamical method. These SBLs turn out to be brighter in the CSF than in the AGN simulations. This is consistent with the finding that AGN feedback makes BCGs to be less massive and with shallower density profiles than in the CSF simulations. The BCG stellar components, as identified by both methods, are slightly older and more metal-rich than the stars in the diffuse component. Relaxed clusters have somewhat higher stellar mass fractions in the diffuse component. The metallicity and age of both the BCG and diffuse components in relaxed clusters are also richer in metals and older.

Description: We present results of cosmological simulations of disc galaxies carried out with the gadget -3 TreePM+SPH code, where star formation and stellar feedback are described using our MUlti Phase Particle Integrator model. This description is based on a simple multiphase model of the interstellar medium at unresolved scales, where mass and energy flows among the components are explicitly followed by solving a system of ordinary differential equations. Thermal energy from supernovae is injected into the local hot phase, so as to avoid that it is promptly radiated away. A kinetic feedback prescription generates the massive outflows needed to avoid the overproduction of stars. We use two sets of zoomed-in initial conditions of isolated cosmological haloes with masses (2–3) 10 12 M , both available at several resolution levels. In all cases we obtain spiral galaxies with small bulge-over-total stellar mass ratios ( B / T  ~ 0.2), extended stellar and gas discs, flat rotation curves and realistic values of stellar masses. Gas profiles are relatively flat, molecular gas is found to dominate at the centre of galaxies, with star formation rates following the observed Schmidt–Kennicutt relation. Stars kinematically belonging to the bulge form early, while disc stars show a clear inside-out formation pattern and mostly form after redshift z  = 2. However, the baryon conversion efficiencies in our simulations differ from the relation given by Moster et al. at a 3 level, thus indicating that our stellar discs are still too massive for the dark matter halo in which they reside. Results are found to be remarkably stable against resolution. This further demonstrates the feasibility of carrying out simulations producing a realistic population of galaxies within representative cosmological volumes, at a relatively modest resolution.

Description: We study the role of feedback from supernovae (SN) and black holes in the evolution of the star formation rate function (SFRF) of z  ~ 4–7 galaxies. We use a new set of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, A ngus ( AustraliaN GADGET-3 early Universe Simulations ), run with a modified and improved version of the parallel TreePM-smoothed particle hydrodynamics code GADGET-3 called P-GADGET3(XXL) , that includes a self-consistent implementation of stellar evolution and metal enrichment. In our simulations both SN-driven galactic winds and active galactic nuclei (AGN) act simultaneously in a complex interplay. The SFRF is insensitive to feedback prescription at z  〉 5, meaning that it cannot be used to discriminate between feedback models during reionization. However, the SFRF is sensitive to the details of feedback prescription at lower redshift. By exploring different SN-driven wind velocities and regimes for the AGN feedback, we find that the key factor for reproducing the observed SFRFs is a combination of ‘strong’ SN winds and early AGN feedback in low-mass galaxies. Conversely, we show that the choice of initial mass function and inclusion of metal cooling have less impact on the evolution of the SFRF. When variable winds are considered, we find that a non-aggressive wind scaling is needed to reproduce the SFRFs at z   4. Otherwise, the amount of objects with low SFRs is greatly suppressed and at the same time winds are not effective enough in the most massive systems.

Description: The adiabatic evolution of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a key prediction of standard cosmology. We study deviations from the expected adiabatic evolution of the CMB temperature of the form T ( z ) =  T 0 (1 + z ) 1 – α using measurements of the spectrum of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect with the South Pole Telescope (SPT). We present a method for using the ratio of the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich signal measured at 95 and 150 GHz in the SPT data to constrain the temperature of the CMB. We demonstrate that this approach provides unbiased results using mock observations of clusters from a new set of hydrodynamical simulations. We apply this method to a sample of 158 SPT-selected clusters, spanning the redshift range 0.05 〈 z  〈 1.35, and measure $\alpha = 0.017^{+0.030}_{-0.028}$, consistent with the standard model prediction of α = 0. In combination with other published results, we find α = 0.005 ± 0.012, an improvement of ~10 per cent over published constraints. This measurement also provides a strong constraint on the effective equation of state in models of decaying dark energy w eff  = –0.994 ± 0.010.