arXiv subjects

Alyson Brooks

Publications and source records attributed to Alyson Brooks.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Multimessenger Signatures of Massive Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies

Recent discoveries of massive black holes (MBHs) in dwarf galaxies suggest that they may have a more common presence than once thought. Systematic searches are revealing more candidates, but this process could be accelerated by predictions from simulations. We perform a study of several high-resolution, cosmological, zoom-in simulations focusing on dwarf galaxies that host massive black holes at z = 0, with the aim of determining when the black holes are most observable. Larger dwarf galaxies are more likely to host MBHs than those of lower mass. About 50% of the MBHs in dwarfs are not centrally located, but rather are wandering within a few kpc of the galaxy center. The accretion luminosities of MBHs in dwarfs are low throughout cosmic time, rendering them extremely difficult to detect. However, the merger history of these MBHs is optimal for gravitational wave detection by LISA.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Tracing Outflowing Metals in Simulations of Dwarf and Spiral Galaxies

We analyze the metal accumulation in dwarf and spiral galaxies by following the history of metal enrichment and outflows in a suite of twenty high-resolution simulated galaxies. These simulations agree with the observed stellar and gas-phase mass-metallicity relation, an agreement that relies on large fractions of the produced metals escaping into the CGM. For instance, in galaxies with Mvir ~ 1e9.5 -- 1e10 solar masses, we find that about ~ 85% of the available metals are outside of the galactic disk at z = 0, although the fraction decreases to a little less than half in Milky Way-mass galaxies. In many cases, these metals are spread far beyond the virial radius. We analyze the metal deficit within the ISM and stars in the context of previous work tracking the inflow and outflow of baryons. Outflows are prevalent across the entire mass range, as is reaccretion. We find that between 40 and 80% of all metals removed from the galactic disk are later reaccreted. The outflows themselves are metal enriched relative to the ISM by a factor of 0.2 dex because of the correspondence between sites of metal enrichment and outflows. As a result, the metal mass loading factor scales as eta_metals \propto v_circ^-0.91, a somewhat shallower scaling than the total mass loading factor. We analyze the simulated galaxies within the context of analytic chemical evolution models by determining their net metal expulsion efficiencies, which encapsulate the rates of metal loss and reaccretion. We discuss these results in light of the inflow and outflow properties necessary for reproducing the mass-metallicity relation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Statistical challenges in the search for dark matter

The search for the particle nature of dark matter has given rise to a number of experimental, theoretical and statistical challenges. Here, we report on a number of these statistical challenges and new techniques to address them, as discussed in the DMStat workshop held Feb 26 - Mar 3 2018 at the Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) in Banff, Alberta.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations of Preferential Accretion in the SMBH of Milky Way Size Galaxies

Using a new, high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamic simulation of a Milky Way-type (MW-type) galaxy, we explore how a merger-rich assembly history affects the mass budget of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). We examine a MW-mass halo at the present epoch whose evolution is characterized by several major mergers to isolate the importance of merger history on black hole accretion. This study is an extension of Bellovary et. al. 2013, which analyzed the accretion of high mass, high redshift galaxies and their central black holes, and found that the gas content of the central black hole reflects what is accreted by the host galaxy halo. In this study, we find that a merger-rich galaxy will have a central SMBH preferentially fed by merger gas. Moreover, we find that nearly 30$\%$ of the accreted mass budget of the SMBH enters the galaxy through the two major mergers in its history, which may account for the increase of merger-gas fueling the SMBH. Through an investigation of the angular momentum of the gas entering the host and its SMBH, we determine that merger gas enters the galaxy with lower angular momentum compared to smooth accretion, partially accounting for the preferential fueling witnessed in the SMBH. In addition, the presence of mergers, particularly major mergers, also helps funnel low angular momentum gas more readily to the center of the galaxy. Our results imply that galaxy mergers play an important role in feeding the SMBH in MW-type galaxies with merger-rich histories. Our results imply that galaxy mergers play an important role in feeding the SMBH in MW-type galaxies with merger-rich histories.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

In-N-Out: the gas cycle from dwarfs to spiral galaxies

We examine the scalings of galactic outflows with halo mass across a suite of twenty high-resolution cosmological zoom galaxy simulations covering halo masses from 10^9.5 - 10^12 M_sun. These simulations self-consistently generate outflows from the available supernova energy in a manner that successfully reproduces key galaxy observables including the stellar mass-halo mass, Tully-Fisher, and mass-metallicity relations. We quantify the importance of ejective feedback to setting the stellar mass relative to the efficiency of gas accretion and star formation. Ejective feedback is increasingly important as galaxy mass decreases; we find an effective mass loading factor that scales as v_circ^(-2.2), with an amplitude and shape that is invariant with redshift. These scalings are consistent with analytic models for energy-driven wind, based solely on the halo potential. Recycling is common: about half the outflow mass across all galaxy masses is later re-accreted. The recycling timescale is typically about 1 Gyr, virtually independent of halo mass. Recycled material is re-accreted farther out in the disk and with typically about 2-3 times more angular momentum. These results elucidate and quantify how the baryon cycle plausibly regulates star formation and alters the angular momentum distribution of disk material across the halo mass range where most of cosmic star formation occurs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Beta Dips in the Gaia Era: Simulation Predictions of the Galactic Velocity Anisotropy Parameter for Stellar Halos

The velocity anisotropy parameter, beta, is a measure of the kinematic state of orbits in the stellar halo which holds promise for constraining the merger history of the Milky Way (MW). We determine global trends for beta as a function of radius from three suites of simulations, including accretion only and cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We find that both types of simulations are consistent and predict strong radial anisotropy ( ~0.7) for Galactocentric radii greater than 10 kpc. Previous observations of beta for the MW's stellar halo claim a detection of an isotropic or tangential "dip" at r~20 kpc. Using the N-body+SPH simulations, we investigate the temporal persistence, population origin, and severity of "dips" in beta. We find dips in the in situ stellar halo are long-lived, while dips in the accreted stellar halo are short-lived and tied to the recent accretion of satellite material. We also find that a major merger as early as z~1 can result in a present day low (isotropic to tangential) value of beta over a wide range of radii and angular expanse. While all of these mechanisms are plausible drivers for the beta dip observed in the MW, in the simulations, each mechanism has a unique metallicity signature associated with it, implying that future spectroscopic surveys could distinguish between them. Since an accurate knowledge of beta(r) is required for measuring the mass of the MW halo, we note significant transient dips in beta could cause an overestimate of the halo's mass when using spherical Jeans equation modeling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The Contribution Of Outer HI Disks To The Merging Binary Black Hole Population

We investigate the contribution of outer HI disks to the observable population of merging black hole binaries. Like dwarf galaxies, the outer HI disks of spirals have low star formation rates and lower metallicities than the inner disks of spirals. Since low-metallicity star formation can produce more detectable compact binaries than typical star formation, the environments in the outskirts of spiral galaxies may be conducive to producing a rich population of massive binary black holes. We consider here both detailed controlled simulations of spirals and cosmological simulations, as well as the current range of observed values for metallicity and star formation in outer disks. We find that outer HI disks contribute at least as much as dwarf galaxies do to the observed LIGO/Virgo detection rates. Identifying the host galaxies of merging massive black holes should provide constraints on cosmological parameters and insights into the formation channels of binary mergers.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Going, going, gone dark: Quantifying the scatter in the faintest dwarf galaxies

We predict the stellar mass-halo mass (SMHM) relationship for dwarf galaxies and their satellites residing in halos down to M$_{halo} =$ 10$^7$ M$_{\odot}$ with 10$^4$ M$_{\odot} <$ M$_{star}$($z=0$) $< 10^8$ M$_{\odot}$, and quantify the predicted scatter in the relation at the low mass end, using cosmological simulations. The galaxies were drawn from a cosmological simulation of dwarf galaxies, run with the N-body + SPH code, ChaNGA, at a high resolution of 60 pc. For M$_{halo} > 10^9$ M$_{\odot}$, the simulated SMHM relationship agrees with literature determinations, including exhibiting a small scatter. However, the scatter in the SMHM relation increases dramatically for lower-mass halos. We find that some of this scatter is due to {\em dark dwarfs}, halos devoid of stars. However, even when only considering well-resolved halos that contain a stellar population, the scatter in stellar mass reaches nearly 1 dex for M$_{halo}$($z=0$) 10$^7$ M$_{\odot}$. Much of this scatter is due to including satellites of the dwarf galaxies that have had their halo masses reduced through tidal stripping. The fraction of dark dwarfs (those that contain no stars) increases substantially with decreasing halo mass. When these dark halos are considered, the true scatter in the SMHM at low masses is even larger. At the faintest end of the SMHM relation probed by our simulations, a galaxy cannot be assigned a unique halo mass based solely on its luminosity. We provide a formula to stochastically populate low-mass halos following our results. Our predicted large scatter at low halo masses increases the slope of the resulting stellar mass function on the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy scales currently being probed by such surveys as the Dark Energy Survey or the Hyper-Suprime Cam Subaru Strategic Program, and in the future by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

A rumble in the dark: signatures of self-interacting dark matter in Super-Massive Black Hole dynamics and galaxy density profiles

We explore for the first time the effect of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) on the dark matter (DM) and baryonic distribution in massive galaxies formed in hydrodynamical cosmological simulations, including explicit baryonic physics treatment. A novel implementation of Super-Massive Black Hole (SMBH) formation and evolution is used, as in Tremmel et al.(2015, 2016), allowing to explicitly follow SMBH dynamics at the center of galaxies. A high SIDM constant cross-section is chosen, $σ$=10 $\rm cm^2/gr$, to amplify differences from CDM models. Milky Way-like galaxies form a shallower DM density profile in SIDM than they do in CDM, with differences already at 20 kpc scales. This demonstrates that even for the most massive spirals the effect of SIDM dominates over the adiabatic contraction due to baryons. Strikingly, the dynamics of SMBHs differs in the SIDM and reference CDM case. SMBHs in massive spirals have sunk to the centre of their host galaxy in both the SIDM and CDM run, while in less massive galaxies about 80$\%$ of the SMBH population is off-centered in the SIDM case, as opposed to the CDM case in which $\sim$90$\%$ of SMBHs have reached their host's centre. SMBHs are found as far as $\sim$9 kpc away from the centre of their host SIDM galaxy. This difference is due to the increased dynamical friction timescale caused by the lower DM density in SIDM galaxies compared to CDM, resulting in 'core stalling'. This pilot work highlights the importance of simulating in a full hydrodynamical context different DM models combined to SMBH physics to study their influence on galaxy formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The effects of host galaxy properties on merging compact binaries detectable by LIGO

Cosmological simulations of galaxy formation can produce present-day galaxies with a large range of assembly and star formation histories. A detailed study of the metallicity evolution and star formation history of such simulations can assist in predicting LIGO-detectable compact object binary mergers. Recent simulations of compact binary evolution suggest the compact object merger rate depends sensitively on the progenitor's metallicity. Rare low-metallicity star formation during galaxy assembly can produce more detected compact binaries than typical star formation. Using detailed simulations of galaxy and chemical evolution, we determine how sensitively the compact binary populations of galaxies with similar present-day appearance depend on the details of their assembly. We also demonstrate by concrete example the extent to which dwarf galaxies overabundantly produce compact binary mergers, particularly binary black holes, relative to more massive galaxies. We discuss the implications for transient multimessenger astronomy with compact binary sources.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Effects of Inclination on Measuring Velocity Dispersion and Implications for Black Holes

The relation of central black hole mass and stellar spheroid velocity dispersion (the M-$σ$ relation) is one of the best-known and tightest correlations linking black holes and their host galaxies. There has been much scrutiny concerning the difficulty of obtaining accurate black hole measurements, and rightly so; however, it has been taken for granted that measurements of velocity dispersion are essentially straightforward. We examine five disk galaxies from cosmological SPH simulations and find that line-of-sight effects due to galaxy orientation can affect the measured $σ$ by 30%, and consequently black hole mass predictions by up to 1.0 dex. Face-on orientations correspond to systematically lower velocity dispersion measurements, while more edge-on orientations give higher velocity dispersions, due to contamination by disk stars when measuring line of sight quantities. We caution observers that the uncertainty of velocity dispersion measurements is at least 20 km/s, and can be much larger for moderate inclinations. This effect may account for some of the scatter in the locally measured M-$σ$ relation, particularly at the low-mass end. We provide a method for correcting observed $σ_{\rm los}$ values for inclination effects based on observable quantities.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Re-Examining Astrophysical Constraints on the Dark Matter Model

Recent high-resolution simulations that include Cold Dark Matter (CDM) and baryons have shown that baryonic physics can dramatically alter the dark matter structure of galaxies. These results modify our predictions for observed galaxy evolution and structure. Given these updated expectations, it is timely to re-examine observational constraints on the dark matter model. A few observations are reviewed that may indirectly trace dark matter, and may help confirm or deny possible dark matter models. Warm Dark Matter (WDM) and Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM) are currently the favorite alternative models to CDM. Constraints on the WDM particle mass require it to be so heavy that WDM is nearly indistinguishable from CDM. The best observational test of SIDM is likely to be in the dark matter distribution of faint dwarf galaxies, but there is a lack of theoretical predictions for galaxy structure in SIDM that account for the role of baryons.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Kinematic Evolution of Simulated Star-Forming Galaxies

Recent observations have shown that star-forming galaxies like our own Milky Way evolve kinematically into ordered thin disks over the last ~8 billion years since z=1.2, undergoing a process of "disk settling." For the first time, we study the kinematic evolution of a suite of four state of the art "zoom in" hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation and evolution in a fully cosmological context and compare with these observations. Until now, robust measurements of the internal kinematics of simulated galaxies were lacking as the simulations suffered from low resolution, overproduction of stars, and overly massive bulges. The current generation of simulations has made great progress in overcoming these difficulties and is ready for a kinematic analysis. We show that simulated galaxies follow the same kinematic trends as real galaxies: they progressively decrease in disordered motions (sigma_g) and increase in ordered rotation (Vrot) with time. The slopes of the relations between both sigma_g and Vrot with redshift are consistent between the simulations and the observations. In addition, the morphologies of the simulated galaxies become less disturbed with time, also consistent with observations, and they both have similarly large scatter. This match between the simulated and observed trends is a significant success for the current generation of simulations, and a first step in determining the physical processes behind disk settling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

The Relative Role of Galaxy Mergers and Cosmic Flows in Feeding Black Holes

Using a set of zoomed-in cosmological simulations of high-redshift progenitors of massive galaxies, we isolate and trace the history of gas that is accreted by central supermassive black holes. We determine the origins of the accreted gas, in terms of whether it entered the galaxy during a merger event or was smoothly accreted. Furthermore, we designate whether the smoothly accreted gas is accreted via a cold flow or is shocked upon entry into the halo. For moderate-mass (10^6 - 10^7 Msun) black holes at z ~ 4, there is a preference to accrete cold flow gas than gas of shocked or merger origin. However, this result is a consequence of the fact that the entire galaxy has a higher fraction of gas from cold flows. In general, each black hole tends to accrete the same fractions of smooth- and merger-accreted gas as is contained in its host galaxy, suggesting that once gas enters a halo it becomes well-mixed, and its origins are erased. We find that the angular momentum of the gas upon halo entry is a more important factor; black holes preferentially accrete gas that had low angular momentum when it entered the galaxy, regardless of whether it was accreted smoothly or through mergers.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

The central slope of dark matter cores in dwarf galaxies: Simulations vs. THINGS

We make a direct comparison of the derived dark matter (DM) distributions between hydrodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxies assuming a LCDM cosmology and the observed dwarf galaxies sample from the THINGS survey in terms of (1) the rotation curve shape and (2) the logarithmic inner density slope alpha of mass density profiles. The simulations, which include the effect of baryonic feedback processes, such as gas cooling, star formation, cosmic UV background heating and most importantly physically motivated gas outflows driven by supernovae (SNe), form bulgeless galaxies with DM cores. We show that the stellar and baryonic mass is similar to that inferred from photometric and kinematic methods for galaxies of similar circular velocity. Analyzing the simulations in exactly the same way as the observational sample allows us to address directly the so-called "cusp/core" problem in the LCDM model. We show that the rotation curves of the simulated dwarf galaxies rise less steeply than CDM rotation curves and are consistent with those of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The mean value of the logarithmic inner density slopes alpha of the simulated galaxies' dark matter density profiles is ~ -0.4 +- 0.1, which shows good agreement with α= -0.29 +- 0.07 of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The effect of non-circular motions is not significant enough to affect the results. This confirms that the baryonic feedback processes included in the simulations are efficiently able to make the initial cusps with α~ -1.0 to -1.5 predicted by dark-matter-only simulations shallower, and induce DM halos with a central mass distribution similar to that observed in nearby dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Angular Momentum Evolution in Dark Matter Halos

We have analyzed high resolution N-body simulations of dark matter halos, focusing specifically on the evolution of angular momentum. We find that not only is individual particle angular momentum not conserved, but the angular momentum of radial shells also varies over the age of the Universe by up to factors of a few. We find that torques from external structure are the most likely cause for this distribution shift. Since the model of adiabatic contraction that is often applied to model the effects of galaxy evolution on the dark-matter density profile in a halo assumes angular momentum conservation, this variation implies that there is a fundamental limit on the possible accuracy of the adiabatic contraction model in modeling the response of DM halos to the growth of galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

Interpreting the Evolution of the Size - Luminosity Relation for Disk Galaxies from Redshift 1 to the Present

A sample of very high resolution cosmological disk galaxy simulations is used to investigate the evolution of galaxy disk sizes back to redshift 1 within the Lambda CDM cosmology. Artificial images in the rest frame B band are generated, allowing for a measurement of disk scale lengths using surface brightness profiles as observations would, and avoiding any assumption that light must follow mass as previous models have assumed. We demonstrate that these simulated disks are an excellent match to the observed magnitude - size relation for both local disks, and for disks at z=1 in the magnitude/mass range of overlap. We disentangle the evolution seen in the population as a whole from the evolution of individual disk galaxies. In agreement with observations, our simulated disks undergo roughly 1.5 magnitudes/arcsec^2 of surface brightness dimming since z=1. We find evidence that evolution in the magnitude - size plane varies by mass, such that galaxies with M* > 10^9 M_sun undergo more evolution in size than luminosity, while dwarf galaxies tend to evolve potentially more in luminosity. The disks grow in such a way as to stay on roughly the same stellar mass - size relation with time. Finally, due to an evolving stellar mass - SFR relation, a galaxy at a given stellar mass (or size) at z=1 will reside in a more massive halo and have a higher SFR, and thus a higher luminosity, than a counterpart of the same stellar mass at z=0.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The Dual Origin of Stellar Halos II: Chemical Abundances as Tracers of Formation History

Fully cosmological, high resolution N-Body + SPH simulations are used to investigate the chemical abundance trends of stars in simulated stellar halos as a function of their origin. These simulations employ a physically motivated supernova feedback recipe, as well as metal enrichment, metal cooling and metal diffusion. As presented in an earlier paper, the simulated galaxies in this study are surrounded by stellar halos whose inner regions contain both stars accreted from satellite galaxies and stars formed in situ in the central regions of the main galaxies and later displaced by mergers into their inner halos. The abundance patterns ([Fe/H] and [O/Fe]) of halo stars located within 10 kpc of a solar-like observer are analyzed. We find that for galaxies which have not experienced a recent major merger, in situ stars at the high [Fe/H] end of the metallicity distribution function are more [alpha/Fe]-rich than accreted stars at similar [Fe/H]. This dichotomy in the [O/Fe] of halo stars at a given [Fe/H] results from the different potential wells within which in situ and accreted halo stars form. These results qualitatively match recent observations of local Milky Way halo stars. It may thus be possible for observers to uncover the relative contribution of different physical processes to the formation of stellar halos by observing such trends in the halo populations of the Milky Way, and other local L* galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗