arXiv subjects

Carlos S. Frenk

Publications and source records attributed to Carlos S. Frenk.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

The EAGLE simulations of galaxy formation: public release of halo and galaxy catalogues

We present the public data release of halo and galaxy catalogues extracted from the EAGLE suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation. These simulations were performed with an enhanced version of the GADGET code that includes a modified hydrodynamics solver, time-step limiter and subgrid treatments of baryonic physics, such as stellar mass loss, element-by-element radiative cooling, star formation and feedback from star formation and black hole accretion. The simulation suite includes runs performed in volumes ranging from 25 to 100 comoving megaparsecs per side, with numerical resolution chosen to marginally resolve the Jeans mass of the gas at the star formation threshold. The free parameters of the subgrid models for feedback are calibrated to the redshift z=0 galaxy stellar mass function, galaxy sizes and black hole mass - stellar mass relation. The simulations have been shown to match a wide range of observations for present-day and higher-redshift galaxies. The raw particle data have been used to link galaxies across redshifts by creating merger trees. The indexing of the tree produces a simple way to connect a galaxy at one redshift to its progenitors at higher redshift and to identify its descendants at lower redshift. In this paper we present a relational database which we are making available for general use. A large number of properties of haloes and galaxies and their merger trees are stored in the database, including stellar masses, star formation rates, metallicities, photometric measurements and mock gri images. Complex queries can be created to explore the evolution of more than 10^5 galaxies, examples of which are provided in appendix. (abridged)

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arXiv2016

A unified multi-wavelength model of galaxy formation

We present a new version of the GALFORM semi-analytical model of galaxy formation. This brings together several previous developments of GALFORM into a single unified model, including a different initial mass function (IMF) in quiescent star formation and in starbursts, feedback from active galactic nuclei supressing gas cooling in massive halos, and a new empirical star formation law in galaxy disks based on their molecular gas content. In addition, we have updated the cosmology, introduced a more accurate treatment of dynamical friction acting on satellite galaxies, and updated the stellar population model. The new model is able to simultaneously explain both the observed evolution of the K-band luminosity function and stellar mass function, and the number counts and redshift distribution of sub-mm galaxies selected at 850 mu. This was not previously achieved by a single physical model within the LambdaCDM framework, but requires having an IMF in starbursts that is somewhat top-heavy. The new model is tested against a wide variety of observational data covering wavelengths from the far-UV to sub-mm, and redshifts from z=0 to z=6, and is found to be generally successful. These observations include the optical and near-IR luminosity functions, HI mass function, fraction of early type galaxies, Tully-Fisher, metallicity-luminosity and size-luminosity relations at z=0, as well as far-IR number counts, and far-UV luminosity functions at z ~ 3-6. [abridged]

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arXiv2016

The cold dark matter content of Galactic dwarf spheroidals: no cores, no failures, no problem

We examine the dark matter content of satellite galaxies in Lambda-CDM cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the Local Group from the APOSTLE project. We find excellent agreement between simulation results and estimates for the 9 brightest Galactic dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) derived from their stellar velocity dispersions and half-light radii. Tidal stripping plays an important role by gradually removing dark matter from the outside in, affecting in particular fainter satellites and systems of larger-than-average size for their luminosity. Our models suggest that tides have significantly reduced the dark matter content of Can Ven I, Sextans, Carina, and Fornax, a prediction that may be tested by comparing them with field galaxies of matching luminosity and size. Uncertainties in observational estimates of the dark matter content of individual dwarfs have been underestimated in the past, at times substantially. We use our improved estimates to revisit the `too-big-to-fail' problem highlighted in earlier N-body work. We reinforce and extend our previous conclusion that the APOSTLE simulations show no sign of this problem. The resolution does not require `cores' in the dark mass profiles, but, rather, relies on revising assumptions and uncertainties in the interpretation of observational data and accounting for `baryon effects' in the theoretical modelling.

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arXiv2016

Size matters: abundance matching, galaxy sizes, and the Tully-Fisher relation in EAGLE

The Tully-Fisher relation (TFR) links the stellar mass of a disk galaxy, $M_{\rm str}$, to its rotation speed: it is well approximated by a power law, shows little scatter, and evolves weakly with redshift. The relation has been interpreted as reflecting the mass-velocity scaling ($M\propto V^3$) of dark matter halos, but this interpretation has been called into question by abundance-matching (AM) models, which predict the galaxy-halo mass relation to be non-monotonic and rapidy evolving. We study the TFR of luminous spirals and its relation to AM using the EAGLE set of $Λ$CDM cosmological simulations. Matching both relations requires disk sizes to satisfy constraints given by the concentration of halos and their response to galaxy assembly. EAGLE galaxies approximately match these constraints and show a tight mass-velocity scaling that compares favourably with the observed TFR. The TFR is degenerate to changes in galaxy formation efficiency and the mass-size relation; simulations that fail to match the galaxy stellar mass function may fit the observed TFR if galaxies follow a different mass-size relation. The small scatter in the simulated TFR results because, at fixed halo mass, galaxy mass and rotation speed correlate strongly, scattering galaxies along the main relation. EAGLE galaxies evolve with lookback time following approximately the prescriptions of AM models and the observed mass-size relation of bright spirals, leading to a weak TFR evolution consistent with observation out to $z=1$. $Λ$CDM models that match both the abundance and size of galaxies as a function of stellar mass have no difficulty reproducing the observed TFR and its evolution.

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arXiv2016

Supermassive black holes in the EAGLE Universe. Revealing the observables of their growth

We investigate the evolution of supermassive black holes in the `Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments' (EAGLE) cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. The largest of the EAGLE volumes covers a $(100 \,\rm cMpc)^3$ and includes state-of-the-art physical models for star formation and black hole growth that depend only on local gas properties. We focus on the black hole mass function, Eddington ratio distribution and the implied duty cycle of nuclear activity. The simulation is broadly consistent with observational constraints on these quantities. In order to make a more direct comparison with observational data, we calculate the soft and hard X-ray luminosity functions of the active galactic nuclei (AGN). Between redshifts $0$ and $1$, the simulation is in agreement with data. At higher redshifts, the simulation tends to underpredict the luminosities of the brightest observed AGN. This may be due to the limited volume of the simulation, or a fundamental deficiency of the underlying model. It seems unlikely that additional unresolved variability can account for this difference. The simulation shows a similar `downsizing' of the AGN population as seen in observational surveys.

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arXiv2016

Alignments between galaxies, satellite systems and haloes

The spatial distribution of the satellite populations of the Milky Way and Andromeda are puzzling in that they are nearly perpendicular to the disks of their central galaxies. To understand the origin of such configurations we study the alignment of the central galaxy, satellite system and dark matter halo in the largest of the "Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments" (EAGLE) simulation. We find that centrals and their satellite systems tend to be well aligned with their haloes, with a median misalignment angle of $33^{\circ}$ in both cases. While the centrals are better aligned with the inner $10$ kpc halo, the satellite systems are better aligned with the entire halo indicating that satellites preferentially trace the outer halo. The central - satellite alignment is weak (median misalignment angle of $52^{\circ}$) and we find that around $20\%$ of systems have a misalignment angle larger than $78^{\circ}$, which is the value for the Milky Way. The central - satellite alignment is a consequence of the tendency of both components to align with the dark matter halo. As a consequence, when the central is parallel to the satellite system, it also tends to be parallel to the halo. In contrast, if the central is perpendicular to the satellite system, as in the case of the Milky Way and Andromeda, then the central - halo alignment is much weaker. Dispersion-dominated (spheroidal) centrals have a stronger alignment with both their halo and their satellites than rotation-dominated (disk) centrals. We also found that the halo, the central galaxy and the satellite system tend to be aligned with the surrounding large-scale distribution of matter, with the halo being the better aligned of the three.

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arXiv2016

Spin Flips - II. Evolution of dark matter halo spin orientation, and its correlation with major mergers

We expand our previous study on the relationship between changes in the orientation of the angular momentum vector of dark matter haloes ("spin flips") and changes in their mass (Bett & Frenk 2012), to cover the full range of halo masses in a simulation cube of length 100 $h^{-1}$ Mpc. Since strong disturbances to a halo (such as might be indicated by a large change in the spin direction) are likely also to disturb the galaxy evolving within, spin flips could be a mechanism for galaxy morphological transformation without involving major mergers. We find that 35% of haloes have, at some point in their lifetimes, had a spin flip of at least $45°$ that does not coincide with a major merger. Over 75% of large spin flips coincide with non-major mergers; only a quarter coincide with major mergers. We find a similar picture for changes to the inner-halo spin orientation, although here there is an increased likelihood of a flip occurring. Changes in halo angular momentum orientation, and other such measures of halo perturbation, are therefore very important quantities to consider, in addition to halo mergers, when modelling the formation and evolution of galaxies and confronting such models with observations.

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arXiv2016

The low abundance and insignificance of dark discs in simulated Milky Way galaxies

We investigate the presence and importance of dark matter discs in a sample of 24 simulated Milky Way galaxies in the APOSTLE project, part of the EAGLE programme of hydrodynamic simulations in Lambda-CDM cosmology. It has been suggested that a dark disc in the Milky Way may boost the dark matter density and modify the velocity modulus relative to a smooth halo at the position of the Sun, with ramifications for direct detection experiments. From a kinematic decomposition of the dark matter and a real space analysis of all 24 halos, we find that only one of the simulated Milky Way analogues has a detectable dark disc component. This unique event was caused by a merger at late time with an LMC-mass satellite at very low grazing angle. Considering that even this rare scenario only enhances the dark matter density at the solar radius by 35% and affects the high energy tail of the dark matter velocity distribution by less than 1%, we conclude that the presence of a dark disc in the Milky Way is unlikely, and is very unlikely to have a significant effect on direct detection experiments.

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arXiv2016

Galaxies in the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulation and in the Durham and Munich semi-analytical models

We compare global predictions from the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulation, and two semi-analytic (SA) models of galaxy formation, L-GALAXIES and GALFORM. All three models include the key physical processes for the formation and evolution of galaxies and their parameters are calibrated against a small number of observables at $z\approx 0$. The two SA models have been applied to merger trees constructed from the EAGLE dark matter only simulation. We find that at $z\leq 2$, both the galaxy stellar mass functions for stellar masses $M_*<10^{10.5} M_{\odot}$ and the median specific star formation rates (sSFRs) in the three models agree to better than $0.4$~dex. The evolution of the sSFR predicted by the three models closely follows the mass assembly history of dark matter haloes. In both EAGLE and L-GALAXIES there are more central passive galaxies with $M_*<10^{9.5} M_{\odot}$ than in L-GALAXIES. This difference is related to galaxies that have entered and then left a larger halo and which are treated as satellites in GALFORM. In the range $0 10^{9.5} M_{\odot}$ differ in some instances by an order of magnitude, while the stellar mass-size relation in EAGLE is a factor of $\approx 2$ tighter than for the two SA models. Our results suggest the need for a revision of how SA models treat the effect of baryonic self-gravity on the underlying dark matter. The treatment of gas flows in the models needs to be revised based on detailed comparison with observations to understand in particular the evolution of the stellar mass-metallicity relation.

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arXiv2016

The view from the boundary: a new void stacking method

We introduce a new method for stacking voids and deriving their profile that greatly increases the potential of voids as a tool for precision cosmology. Given that voids are highly non-spherical and have most of their mass at their edge, voids are better described relative to their boundary rather than relative to their centre, as in the conventional spherical stacking approach. The boundary profile is obtained by computing the distance of each volume element from the void boundary. Voids can then be stacked and their profiles computed as a function of this boundary distance. This approach enhances the weak lensing signal of voids, both shear and convergence, by a factor of two when compared to the spherical stacking method. It also results in steeper void density profiles that are characterised by a very slow rise inside the void and a pronounced density ridge at the void boundary. The resulting boundary density profile is self-similar when rescaled by the thickness of the density ridge, implying that the average rescaled profile is independent of void size. The boundary velocity profile is characterized by outflows in the inner regions whose amplitude scales with void size, and by a strong inflow into the filaments and walls delimiting the void. This new picture enables a straightforward discrimination between collapsing and expanding voids both for individual objects as well as for stacked samples.

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arXiv2016

Identifying true satellites of the Magellanic Clouds

The hierarchical nature of LCDM suggests that the Magellanic Clouds must have been surrounded by a number of satellites before their infall into the Milky Way. Many of those satellites should still be in close proximity to the Clouds, but some could have dispersed ahead/behind the Clouds along their Galactic orbit. Either way, prior association with the Clouds results in strong restrictions on the present-day positions and velocities of candidate Magellanic satellites: they must lie close to the nearly-polar orbital plane of the Magellanic stream, and their distances and radial velocities must follow the latitude dependence expected for a tidal stream with the Clouds at pericenter. We use a cosmological numerical simulation of the disruption of a massive subhalo in a Milky Way-sized LCDM halo to test whether any of the 20 dwarfs recently-discovered in the DES, SMASH, Pan-STARRS, and ATLAS surveys are truly associated with the Clouds. Of the 6 systems with kinematic data, only Hydra II and Hor 1 have distances and radial velocities consistent with a Magellanic origin. Of the remaining dwarfs, six (Hor 2, Eri 3, Ret 3, Tuc 4, Tuc 5, and Phx 2) have positions and distances consistent with a Magellanic origin, but kinematic data are needed to substantiate that possibility. Conclusive evidence for association would require proper motions to constrain the orbital angular momentum direction, which, for true Magellanic satellites, must coincide with that of the Clouds. We use this result to predict radial velocities and proper motions for all new dwarfs. Our results are relatively insensitive to the assumption of first or second pericenter for the Clouds.

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arXiv2016

Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches

We study the implications of galaxy formation on dark matter direct detection using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies simulated within the EAGLE and APOSTLE projects. We identify Milky Way analogues that satisfy observational constraints on the Milky Way rotation curve and total stellar mass. We then extract the dark matter density and velocity distribution in the Solar neighbourhood for this set of Milky Way analogues, and use them to analyse the results of current direct detection experiments. For most Milky Way analogues, the event rates in direct detection experiments obtained from the best fit Maxwellian distribution (with peak speed of 223 - 289 km/s) are similar to those obtained directly from the simulations. As a consequence, the allowed regions and exclusion limits set by direct detection experiments in the dark matter mass and spin-independent cross section plane shift by a few GeV compared to the Standard Halo Model, at low dark matter masses. For each dark matter mass, the halo-to-halo variation of the local dark matter density results in an overall shift of the allowed regions and exclusion limits for the cross section. However, the compatibility of the possible hints for a dark matter signal from DAMA and CDMS-Si and null results from LUX and SuperCDMS is not improved.

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arXiv2016

The Mass-Concentration-Redshift Relation of Cold and Warm Dark Matter Halos

We use a suite of cosmological simulations to study the mass-concentration-redshift relation, $c({\rm M},z)$, of dark matter halos. Our simulations include standard $Λ$-cold dark matter (CDM) models, and additional runs with truncated power spectra, consistent with a thermal warm dark matter (WDM) scenario. We find that the mass profiles of CDM and WDM halos are self-similar and well approximated by the Einasto profile. The $c({\rm M},z)$ relation of CDM halos is monotonic: concentrations decrease with increasing virial mass at fixed redshift, and decrease with increasing redshift at fixed mass. The mass accretion histories (MAHs) of CDM halos are also scale-free, and can be used to infer concentrations directly. These results do not apply to WDM halos: their MAHs are not scale-free because of the characteristic scale imposed by the power-spectrum suppression. Further, the WDM $c({\rm M},z)$ relation is non-monotonic: concentrations peak at a mass scale dictated by the truncation scale, and decrease at higher and lower masses. We show that the assembly history of a halo can still be used to infer its concentration, provided that the total mass of its progenitors is considered (the "collapsed mass history"; CMH), rather than just that of its main ancestor. This exploits the scale-free nature of CMHs to derive a simple scaling that reproduces the mass-concentration-redshift relation of both CDM and WDM halos over a vast range of halo masses and redshifts. Our model therefore provides a robust account of the mass, redshift, cosmology and power spectrum dependence of dark matter halo concentrations.

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arXiv2016

Reionisation in sterile neutrino cosmologies

We investigate the process of reionisation in a model in which the dark matter is a warm elementary particle such as a sterile neutrino. We focus on models that are consistent with the dark matter decay interpretation of the recently detected line at 3.5 keV in the X-ray spectra of galaxies and clusters. In warm dark matter models the primordial spectrum of density perturbations has a cut-off on the scale of dwarf galaxies. Structure formation therefore begins later than in the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model and very few objects form below the cut-off mass scale. To calculate the number of ionising photons, we use the Durham semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, GALFORM. We find that even the most extreme 7 keV sterile neutrino we consider is able to reionise the Universe early enough to be compatible with the bounds on the epoch of reionisation from Planck. This, perhaps surprising, result arises from the rapid build-up of high redshift galaxies in the sterile neutrino models which is also reflected in a faster evolution of their far-UV luminosity function between $10>z>7$ than in CDM. The dominant sources of ionising photons are systematically more massive in the sterile neutrino models than in CDM. As a consistency check on the models, we calculate the present-day luminosity function of satellites of Milky Way-like galaxies. When the satellites recently discovered in the DES survey are taken into account, strong constraints are placed on viable sterile neutrino models.

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arXiv2016

The effect of baryons on redshift space distortions and cosmic density and velocity fields in the EAGLE simulation

We use the EAGLE galaxy formation simulation to study the effects of baryons on the power spectrum of the total matter and dark matter distributions and on the velocity fields of dark matter and galaxies. On scales $k{\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim}} 4{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ the effect of baryons on the amplitude of the total matter power spectrum is greater than $1\%$. The back-reaction of baryons affects the density field of the dark matter at the level of $\sim3\%$ on scales of $1\leq k/({h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}})\leq 5$. The dark matter velocity divergence power spectrum at $k{\stackrel{<}{{}_\sim}}0.5{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ is changed by less than $1\%$. The 2D redshift-space power spectrum is affected at the level of $\sim6\%$ at $|\vec{k}|{\stackrel{>}{{}_\sim}} 1{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ (for $μ>0.5$), but for $|\vec{k}|\leq 0.4{h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$ it differs by less than $1\%$. We report vanishingly small baryonic velocity bias for haloes: the peculiar velocities of haloes with $M_{200}>3\times10^{11}{{\rm M}_{\odot}}$ (hosting galaxies with $M_{*}>10^9{{\rm M}_{\odot}}$) are affected at the level of at most $1~$km/s, which is negligible for $1\%$-precision cosmology. We caution that since EAGLE overestimates cluster gas fractions it may also underestimate the impact of baryons, particularly for the total matter power spectrum. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that for theoretical modelling of redshift space distortions and galaxy velocity-based statistics, baryons and their back-reaction can be safely ignored at the current level of observational accuracy. However, we confirm that the modelling of the total matter power spectrum in weak lensing studies needs to include realistic galaxy formation physics in order to achieve the accuracy required in the precision cosmology era.

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arXiv2016

Constraints on the identity of the dark matter from strong gravitational lenses

The cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model unambigously predicts that a large number of haloes should survive as subhaloes when they are accreted into a larger halo. The CDM model would be ruled out if such substructures were shown not to exist. By contrast, if the dark matter consists of warm particles (WDM), then below a threshold mass that depends on the particle mass far fewer substructures would be present. Finding subhaloes below a certain mass would then rule out warm particle masses below some value. Strong gravitational lensing provides a clean method to measure the subhalo mass function through distortions in the structure of Einstein rings and giant arcs.Using mock lensing observations constructed from high-resolution N-body simulations, we show that measurements of approximately 100 strong lens systems with a detection limit of $10^7 h^{-1} M_{\odot}$ would clearly distinguish CDM from WDM in the case where this consists of 7 keV sterile neutrinos such as those that might be responsible for the 3.5 keV X-ray emission line recently detected in galaxies and clusters.

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arXiv2016

On the stellar halo metallicity profile of Milky Way-like galaxies in the Auriga simulations

A recent observational study of haloes of nearby Milky Way-like galaxies shows that only half (four out of eight) of the current sample exhibits strong negative metallicity ([Fe/H]) gradients. This is at odds with predictions from hydrodynamical simulations where such gradients are ubiquitous. In this Letter, we use high resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to study the [Fe/H] distribution of galactic haloes. We find that kinematically selected stellar haloes, including both in-situ and accreted particles, have an oblate [Fe/H] distribution. Spherical [Fe/H] radial profiles show strong negative gradients within 100 kpc, in agreement with previous numerical results. However, the projected median [Fe/H] profiles along the galactic disc minor axis, typically obtained in observations, are significantly flatter. The median [Fe/H] values at a given radius are larger for the spherical profiles than for the minor axis profiles by as much as 0.4 dex within the inner 50 kpc. Similar results are obtained if only the accreted stellar component is considered indicating that the differences between spherical and minor axis profiles are not purely driven by heated disc star particles formed in situ. Our study highlights the importance of performing careful comparisons between models and observations of halo [Fe/H] distributions.

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arXiv2016

The Copernicus Complexio: a high-resolution view of the small-scale Universe

We introduce Copernicus Complexio (COCO), a high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation of structure formation in the $Λ{\rm CDM}{}$ model. COCO follows an approximately spherical region of radius $\sim 17.4h^{-1}\,{\rm Mpc}$ embedded in a much larger periodic cube that is followed at lower resolution. The high resolution volume has a particle mass of $1.135\times10^5h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$ (60 times higher than the Millennium-II simulation). COCO gives the dark matter halo mass function over eight orders of magnitude in halo mass; it forms $\sim 60$ haloes of galactic size, each resolved with about 10 million particles. We confirm the power-law character of the subhalo mass function, $\bar{N}(>μ)\proptoμ^{-s}$, down to a reduced subhalo mass $M_{sub}/M_{200}\equivμ=10^{-6}$, with a best-fit power-law index, $s=0.94$, for hosts of mass $\langle M_{200}\rangle=10^{12}h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$. The concentration-mass relation of COCO haloes deviates from a single power law for masses $M_{200}<\textrm{a few}\times 10^{8}h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\odot}$, where it flattens, in agreement with results by Sanchez-Conde et al. The host mass invariance of the reduced maximum circular velocity function of subhaloes, $ν\equiv V_{max}/V_{200}$, hinted at in previous simulations, is clearly demonstrated over five orders of magnitude in host mass. Similarly, we find that the average, normalised radial distribution of subhaloes is approximately universal (i.e. independent of subhalo mass), as previously suggested by the Aquarius simulations of individual haloes. Finally, we find that at fixed physical subhalo size, subhaloes in lower mass hosts typically have lower central densities than those in higher mass hosts.

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