arXiv subjects

Evgenii Chaikin

Publications and source records attributed to Evgenii Chaikin.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

FLAMINGO: Calibrating large cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with machine learning

To fully take advantage of the data provided by large-scale structure surveys, we need to quantify the potential impact of baryonic effects, such as feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star formation, on cosmological observables. In simulations, feedback processes originate on scales that remain unresolved. Therefore, they need to be sourced via subgrid models that contain free parameters. We use machine learning to calibrate the AGN and stellar feedback models for the FLAMINGO cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Using Gaussian process emulators trained on Latin hypercubes of 32 smaller-volume simulations, we model how the galaxy stellar mass function and cluster gas fractions change as a function of the subgrid parameters. The emulators are then fit to observational data, allowing for the inclusion of potential observational biases. We apply our method to the three different FLAMINGO resolutions, spanning a factor of 64 in particle mass, recovering the observed relations within the respective resolved mass ranges. We also use the emulators, which link changes in subgrid parameters to changes in observables, to find models that skirt or exceed the observationally allowed range for cluster gas fractions and the stellar mass function. Our method enables us to define model variations in terms of the data that they are calibrated to rather than the values of specific subgrid parameters. This approach is useful, because subgrid parameters are typically not directly linked to particular observables, and predictions for a specific observable are influenced by multiple subgrid parameters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

The FLAMINGO project: cosmological hydrodynamical simulations for large-scale structure and galaxy cluster surveys

We introduce the Virgo Consortium's FLAMINGO suite of hydrodynamical simulations for cosmology and galaxy cluster physics. To ensure the simulations are sufficiently realistic for studies of large-scale structure, the subgrid prescriptions for stellar and AGN feedback are calibrated to the observed low-redshift galaxy stellar mass function and cluster gas fractions. The calibration is performed using machine learning, separately for three resolutions. This approach enables specification of the model by the observables to which they are calibrated. The calibration accounts for a number of potential observational biases and for random errors in the observed stellar masses. The two most demanding simulations have box sizes of 1.0 and 2.8 Gpc and baryonic particle masses of $1\times10^8$ and $1\times10^9 \text{M}_\odot$, respectively. For the latter resolution the suite includes 12 model variations in a 1 Gpc box. There are 8 variations at fixed cosmology, including shifts in the stellar mass function and/or the cluster gas fractions to which we calibrate, and two alternative implementations of AGN feedback (thermal or jets). The remaining 4 variations use the unmodified calibration data but different cosmologies, including different neutrino masses. The 2.8 Gpc simulation follows $3\times10^{11}$ particles, making it the largest ever hydrodynamical simulation run to $z=0$. Lightcone output is produced on-the-fly for up to 8 different observers. We investigate numerical convergence, show that the simulations reproduce the calibration data, and compare with a number of galaxy, cluster, and large-scale structure observations, finding very good agreement with the data for converged predictions. Finally, by comparing hydrodynamical and `dark-matter-only' simulations, we confirm that baryonic effects can suppress the halo mass function and the matter power spectrum by up to $\approx20$ per cent.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Tests of subgrid models for star formation using simulations of isolated disk galaxies

We use smoothed-particle hydrodynamics simulations of isolated Milky Way-mass disk galaxies that include cold, interstellar gas to test subgrid prescriptions for star formation (SF). Our fiducial model combines a Schmidt law with a gravitational instability criterion, but we also test density thresholds and temperature ceilings. While SF histories are insensitive to the prescription for SF, the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relations between SF rate and gas surface density can discriminate between models. We show that our fiducial model, with an SF efficiency per free-fall time of 1 per cent, agrees with spatially-resolved and azimuthally-averaged observed KS relations for neutral, atomic and molecular gas. Density thresholds do not perform as well. While temperature ceilings selecting cold, molecular gas can match the data for galaxies with solar metallicity, they are unsuitable for very low-metallicity gas and hence for cosmological simulations. We argue that SF criteria should be applied at the resolution limit rather than at a fixed physical scale, which means that we should aim for numerical convergence of observables rather than of the properties of gas labelled as star-forming. Our fiducial model yields good convergence when the mass resolution is varied by nearly 4 orders of magnitude, with the exception of the spatially-resolved molecular KS relation at low surface densities. For the gravitational instability criterion, we quantify the impact on the KS relations of gravitational softening, the SF efficiency, and the strength of supernova feedback, as well as of observable parameters such as the inclusion of ionized gas, the averaging scale, and the metallicity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

A thermal-kinetic subgrid model for supernova feedback in simulations of galaxy formation

We present a subgrid model for supernova feedback designed for cosmological simulations of galaxy formation that may include a cold interstellar medium (ISM). The model uses thermal and kinetic channels of energy injection, which are built upon the stochastic kinetic and thermal models for stellar feedback used in the OWLS and EAGLE simulations, respectively. In the thermal channel, the energy is distributed statistically isotropically and injected stochastically in large amounts per event, which minimizes spurious radiative energy losses. In the kinetic channel, we inject the energy in small portions by kicking gas particles in pairs in opposite directions. The implementation of kinetic feedback is designed to conserve energy, linear and angular momentum, and is statistically isotropic. To test the model, we run simulations of isolated Milky Way-mass and dwarf galaxies, in which the gas is allowed to cool down to 10 K. Using the thermal and kinetic channels together, we obtain smooth star formation histories and powerful galactic winds with realistic mass loading factors. Furthermore, the model produces spatially resolved star formation rates (SFRs) and velocity dispersions that are in agreement with observations. We vary the numerical resolution by several orders of magnitude and find excellent convergence of the global SFRs and wind mass loading. We show that large thermal-energy injections generate a hot phase of the ISM and modulate the star formation by ejecting gas from the disc, while the low-energy kicks increase the turbulent velocity dispersion in the neutral ISM, which in turn helps suppress star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The importance of black hole repositioning for galaxy formation simulations

Active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback from accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is an essential ingredient of galaxy formation simulations. The orbital evolution of SMBHs is affected by dynamical friction that cannot be predicted self-consistently by contemporary simulations of galaxy formation in representative volumes. Instead, such simulations typically use a simple "repositioning" of SMBHs, but the effects of this approach on SMBH and galaxy properties have not yet been investigated systematically. Based on a suite of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations with the SWIFT code and a Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton subgrid gas accretion model, we investigate the impact of repositioning on SMBH growth and on other baryonic components through AGN feedback. Across at least a factor ~1000 in mass resolution, SMBH repositioning (or an equivalent approach) is a necessary prerequisite for AGN feedback; without it, black hole growth is negligible. Limiting the effective repositioning speed to $\lesssim$ 10 km/s delays the onset of AGN feedback and severely limits its impact on stellar mass growth in the centre of massive galaxies. Repositioning has three direct physical consequences. It promotes SMBH mergers and thus accelerates their initial growth. In addition, it raises the peak density of the ambient gas and reduces the SMBH velocity relative to it, giving a combined boost to the accretion rate that can reach many orders of magnitude. Our results suggest that a more sophisticated and/or better calibrated treatment of SMBH repositioning is a critical step towards more predictive galaxy formation simulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The importance of the way in which supernova energy is distributed around young stellar populations in simulations of galaxies

Supernova (SN) feedback plays a crucial role in simulations of galaxy formation. Because blastwaves from individual SNe occur on scales that remain unresolved in modern cosmological simulations, SN feedback must be implemented as a subgrid model. Differences in the manner in which SN energy is coupled to the local interstellar medium and in which excessive radiative losses are prevented have resulted in a zoo of models used by different groups. However, the importance of the selection of resolution elements around young stellar particles for SN feedback has largely been overlooked. In this work, we examine various selection methods using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code SWIFT. We run a suite of isolated disk galaxy simulations of a Milky Way-mass galaxy and small cosmological volumes, all with the thermal stochastic SN feedback model used in the EAGLE simulations. We complement the original mass-weighted neighbour selection with a novel algorithm guaranteeing that the SN energy distribution is as close to isotropic as possible. Additionally, we consider algorithms where the energy is injected into the closest, least dense, or most dense neighbour. We show that different neighbour-selection strategies cause significant variations in star formation rates, gas densities, wind mass loading factors, and galaxy morphology. The isotropic method results in more efficient feedback than the conventional mass-weighted selection. We conclude that the manner in which the feedback energy is distributed among the resolution elements surrounding a feedback event is as important as changing the amount of energy by factors of a few.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The interplay between AGN feedback and precipitation of the intracluster medium in simulations of galaxy groups and clusters

Using high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters, we study the interaction between the brightest cluster galaxy, its supermassive black hole (BH) and the intracluster medium (ICM). We create initial conditions for which the ICM is in hydrostatic equilibrium within the gravitational potential from the galaxy and an NFW dark matter halo. Two free parameters associated with the thermodynamic profiles determine the cluster gas fraction and the central temperature, where the latter can be used to create cool-core or non-cool-core systems. Our simulations include radiative cooling, star formation, BH accretion, and stellar and active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. Even though the energy of AGN feedback is injected thermally and isotropically, it leads to anisotropic outflows and buoyantly rising bubbles. We find that the BH accretion rate (BHAR) is highly variable and only correlates strongly with the star formation rate (SFR) and the ICM when it is averaged over more than $1~\rm Myr$. We generally find good agreement with the theoretical precipitation framework. In $10^{13}~\rm M_\odot$ haloes, AGN feedback quenches the central galaxy and converts cool-core systems into non-cool-core systems. In contrast, higher-mass, cool-core clusters evolve cyclically. Episodes of high BHAR raise the entropy of the ICM out to the radius where the ratio of the cooling time and the local dynamical time $t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm dyn} > 10$, thus suppressing condensation and, after a delay, the BHAR. The corresponding reduction in AGN feedback allows the ICM to cool and become unstable to precipitation, thus initiating a new episode of high SFR and BHAR.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Simulations of $^{60}$Fe entrained in ejecta from a near-Earth supernova: Effects of observer motion

Recent studies have shown that live (not decayed) radioactive $^{60}$Fe is present in deep-ocean samples, Antarctic snow, lunar regolith, and cosmic rays. $^{60}$Fe represents supernova (SN) ejecta deposited in the Solar System around $3 \, \rm Myr$ ago, and recently an earlier pulse $\approx 7 \ \rm Myr $ ago has been found. These data point to one or multiple near-Earth SN explosions that presumably participated in the formation of the Local Bubble. We explore this theory using 3D high-resolution smooth-particle hydrodynamical simulations of isolated supernovae with ejecta tracers in a uniform interstellar medium (ISM). The simulation allows us to trace the supernova ejecta in gas form and those eject in dust grains that are entrained with the gas. We consider two cases of diffused ejecta: when the ejecta are well-mixed in the shock and when they are not. In the latter case, we find that these ejecta remain far behind the forward shock, limiting the distance to which entrained ejecta can be delivered to $\approx 100$ pc in an ISM with $n_\mathrm{H}=0.1\; \rm cm^{-3}$ mean hydrogen density. We show that the intensity and the duration of $^{60}$Fe accretion depend on the ISM density and the trajectory of the Solar System. Furthermore, we show the possibility of reproducing the two observed peaks in $^{60}$Fe concentration with this model by assuming two linear trajectories for the Solar System with $30$-km s$^{-1}$ velocity. The fact that we can reproduce the two observed peaks further supports the theory that the $^{60}$Fe signal was originated from near-Earth SNe.

astro-ph.HE↗