arXiv subjects

Joey Braspenning

Publications and source records attributed to Joey Braspenning.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The host halo masses of AGNs and quasars at $z \sim 3-7$ with TNG-Cluster, FLAMINGO and other cosmological galaxy simulations

Most observations and clustering analyses suggest that quasars inhabit a narrow range of dark-matter halo masses ($10^{12-13}$ M$_{\odot}$) across cosmic time ($z\lesssim7$). Recent hydrodynamical simulations in gigaparsec-scale volumes now enable direct comparison of this picture with self-consistent galaxy-formation models. We quantify the relation between AGN bolometric luminosity and host halo mass before Cosmic Noon in TNG300, TNG-Cluster, FLAMINGO L1_m8 and L2p8_m9, and in smaller-volume simulations (Illustris, EAGLE, TNG100, and Simba). For AGNs with $L^{\mathrm{AGN}}_{\mathrm{bol}} \ge 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$, more massive haloes host more luminous AGNs on average, but only up to a certain mass. The median luminosity-halo mass relation is highly non-linear, with large scatter, and flattens (FLAMINGO) or turns over (TNG300+TNG-Cluster) at halo mass, $M_{\mathrm{200,crit}} \gtrsim10^{12}$ M$_{\odot}$, at least at $z<5$-6. This high mass AGN quenching also manifests as a characteristic quasar host halo mass: in TNG300+TNG-Cluster, quasars ($L^{\mathrm{AGN}}_{\mathrm{bol}} \sim10^{45-47}$ erg s$^{-1}$) typically reside in haloes of mass $10^{12-12.5}$ M$_{\odot}$ at $z=3$-6, while FLAMINGO quasars extend to median masses of $\sim10^{12.8}$ M$_{\odot}$ at $z\sim3$-4. All simulations predict substantially larger scatter in AGN luminosity at fixed halo mass than in halo mass at fixed luminosity (up to 3 dex versus $\lesssim1$ dex between the 5th and 95th percentiles), implying weak coupling between halo growth and instantaneous SMBH accretion. Consequently, simulated quasar host masses broadly agree with observational estimates. The most luminous AGNs occupy increasingly rare haloes at earlier epochs but typically do not reside in the most massive haloes at any redshift up to $z\approx7$.

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arXiv2026

Bulk vs. turbulent motions at the centres of galaxy clusters: AGN-driven turbulence according to TNG-Cluster

The highly dynamic intracluster medium (ICM) influences cluster thermodynamic evolution and probes key physical processes. Quantifying the non-thermal motions is therefore essential for understanding cluster physics and interpreting high spectral-resolution X-ray observations from telescopes like {\it XRISM}. We quantify bulk and turbulent gas motions in 352 galaxy clusters at $z=0$ (${\rm M_{200c}=10^{14.3-15.4}\, M_\odot}$) from the TNG-Cluster suite of magneto-hydrodynamical galaxy simulations. We use a multi-scale filtering Reynolds decomposition to separate total gas velocities into bulk (coherent) and turbulent (small-scale fluctuations) components. We primarily focus on the hot X-ray emitting gas in the central core regions. According to TNG-Cluster, majority of the ICM has subsonic turbulence but with broad velocity distributions reaching $\mathcal{M}_{\rm Turb}\sim 10$ and large cluster-to-cluster variations. In cluster centres, turbulence contributes less than half of the total velocity dispersion $(\sigma_{v\rm,Turb } \sim 0.5 ~\sigma_{v,\rm Total})$ for most clusters, with typical turbulent velocity dispersions of $50-75$ km s$^{-1}$ across the mass range, and with sub per cent levels of turbulent pressure support. Clusters that are strong cool cores, or have X-ray cavities, or experienced recent SMBH feedback energy injections exhibit systematically larger turbulent velocity dispersions and more prominent turbulent velocity tails. On average, the turbulent velocity dispersion peaks in cluster centres, decreases slightly to a minimum at $0.1-0.2 \, R_{\rm500c}$, then rises again. Our analysis shows that SMBH feedback is a key driver of turbulence in cluster cores, generating strong but short-lived motion alongside high-velocity outflows. It also calls for caution for interpreting {\it XRISM} observations.

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arXiv2026

The FLAMINGO simulations data release

We describe the public release of $>2.3$ petabytes of data from the FLAMINGO cosmological simulations. The suite consists of hydrodynamical simulations that include radiative cooling, star formation, stellar mass loss and the resulting chemical enrichment, supernova feedback, and two implementations of AGN feedback. Neutrinos are simulated explicitly using particles. Data products include snapshots, halo and galaxy catalogues, HEALPix all-sky lightcone maps, particle data for lightcone maps, and power spectra. The FLAMINGO set includes 22 hydrodynamical simulations. In addition, there are 16 gravity-only simulations, including the $10080^3$ particles FLAMINGO-10k run, with initial conditions that match those of the corresponding hydrodynamical runs. The fiducial hydrodynamical simulations span three numerical resolutions that have each been calibrated to reproduce the present-day galaxy stellar mass function and gas fractions in low-redshift clusters. Other simulations systematically vary the galaxy stellar mass function, cluster gas fractions, cosmology (including neutrino masses), and/or the nature of dark matter, in volumes of 1Gpc$^3$. The release includes hitherto unpublished simulations that use extra dark matter particles. While we provide a facility for downloading complete simulation outputs, we recognise that for many users this will not be possible due to limited local storage or network bandwidth. We implement a web service that enables users to explore available outputs and selectively download datasets or parts of datasets.

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arXiv2026

MUSEQuBES: Probing Anisotropies in Gas and Metal Distributions in the Circumgalactic Medium

We investigate the azimuthal dependence of HI and OVI-bearing gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of 113 isolated galaxies in the redshift range $0.12<z<0.75$, including 91 new measurements from the MUSE Quasar-fields Blind Emitters Survey (MUSEQuBES). Of these, measurements for 46 galaxies lie within the virial radius ($R_{\rm vir}$), including 36 non-face-on systems for which azimuthal angle ($\phi$) measurements are robust. The HI covering fraction (k_HI) within $R_{\rm vir}$ of low-mass ($7<\log(M/M_{\odot})\leq 9$) galaxies, for a threshold column density of ${\rm log}_{10}(N(HI)/{\rm cm}^{-2})=14.5$, exhibits an enhancement along both the disk plane ($\phi\lesssim20^{\circ}$) and in the polar direction ($\phi\gtrsim70^{\circ}$). In contrast, such a bimodal distribution is not observed for higher mass galaxies ($9<\log(M/M_{\odot})\leq 11.3$). Similarly, the OVI covering fraction (k_OVI), for a threshold of ${\rm log}_{10}(N(OVI)/{\rm cm}^{-2})=14.0$, shows a tentative enhancement along both the projected major and minor axes for low-mass galaxies. In contrast, \OVI-bearing gas around higher-mass galaxies appears more uniformly distributed, with no significant azimuthal dependence. Finally, using the halo circular-velocity-normalized pixel-velocity two-point correlation function (TPCF), we find that OVI absorbers are kinematically narrower along the disk plane compared to the polar directions of the host galaxies with similar stellar mass distributions. The observed isotropic distribution of OVI in high-mass halos suggests that its spatial distribution is governed by global halo properties; however, the OVI kinematics retain memory of the site of origin.

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arXiv2026

The FLAMINGO Project: Exploring the X-ray--cosmic-shear cross-correlation as a probe of large-scale structure

Baryonic feedback processes associated with galaxy formation directly influence the large-scale structure by redistributing gas. Recent measurements of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and stacks of X-ray emission from optically selected galaxy clusters suggest that feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is more efficient at expelling gas from low-mass clusters than previously thought. The measurement of the cross-correlation between cosmic shear and diffuse X-ray emission provides a new probe of the distribution of gas in groups and clusters. We use the FLAMINGO cosmological, hydrodynamical simulations to examine the X-ray--cosmic-shear cross-correlation. The cross-correlation is most sensitive to the distribution of gas in haloes with masses $10^{14}\leq M_{200\mathrm{c}}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot}\leq10^{15}$. It is sensitive to the strength of feedback, but the effects of variations in cosmology and baryonic physics are largely degenerate. We compare the FLAMINGO predictions with the cross-correlation between cosmic shear from the Dark Energy Survey and ROSAT all-sky X-ray maps. We find that, if we neglect the X-ray emission from AGN that would remain unresolved by ROSAT, then the fiducial FLAMINGO model is in excellent agreement with the data, while models with stronger or weaker feedback are ruled out. However, if we account for unresolved AGN, either using the direct FLAMINGO predictions or by abundance matching to the observed (extrapolated) AGN luminosity function, then models with stronger feedback are preferred. We conclude that to exploit the potential of the X-ray--lensing cross-correlation, it will be necessary to resolve fainter AGN, and to use external constraints to break the degeneracy between baryonic feedback and cosmology.

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arXiv2025

The origin of scatter in the X-ray luminosity - halo mass relation of galaxy clusters

Galaxy groups and clusters are excellent probes of large-scale structure and are shaped by some of the most energetic physical processes in the Universe. They follow a tight scaling relation of X-ray luminosity with halo mass. However, predicting the dependence of the scatter in this relation on mass and redshift is challenging, due to the statistical requirement of large simulation volumes. Using the large volume cosmological hydrodynamical simulations for galaxy cluster physics FLAMINGO and TNG300+TNG-Cluster, we fit this relation and its scatter, focusing on $M_{\rm 500c}>10^{13}~\mathrm{M_\odot}$ and $z \leq 2$. We find qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different results for the two models. For the first time, we study ways to reduce the scatter using properties beyond X-ray luminosity, namely six ICM, six galaxy, and eleven dark matter halo properties. For both FLAMINGO and TNG300+TNG-Cluster, the gas fraction and thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) signal correlate strongest with X-ray scatter, reducing it by over 50% when accounting for their partial correlations. Galaxy and halo properties correlate weakly with X-ray scatter, typically reducing it by 10-20%. Our results are qualitatively robust across different FLAMINGO feedback variations, though the correlations weaken for stronger feedback and with increasing redshift. Differences between FLAMINGO and TNG300+TNG-Cluster are only apparent at the high-mass end - where e.g. the galaxy stellar age correlates strongly for FLAMINGO, but not for TNG300+TNG-Cluster - confirming robustness across physics implementations. We provide fitting formulas for the scatter and its corrections, for direct application to cosmological analyses and observational data.

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arXiv2025

Mass Proxy Quality of Massive Halo Properties in the IllustrisTNG and FLAMINGO Simulations: I. Hot Gas

We examine scale and redshift dependence of mass-property relations (MPRs) for five hot gas properties of two large group- and cluster-scale halo samples realized by the IllustrisTNG, TNG-Cluster and FLAMINGO cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. For intrinsic properties of i) hot gas mass ($M_{\rm gas}$), ii) spectroscopic-like temperature ($T_{\rm sl}$), iii) soft-band X-ray luminosity ($L_{\rm X}$), and iv) X-ray ($Y_{\rm X}$) and v) Sunyaev-Zel'dovich ($Y_{\rm SZ}$) thermal energies, we use MPR parameters to infer mass proxy quality (MPQ) -- the implied scatter in total halo mass conditioned on a property -- for halos with $M_{\rm 500c} \geq 10^{13}{\, {\rm M}_\odot}$ at redshifts, $z \in \{0, 0.5, 1, 2\}$. We find: (1) in general, scaling relation slopes and covariance display moderate to strong dependence on halo mass, with redshift dependence secondary; (2) for halos with $M_{\rm 500c} > 10^{14}{\, {\rm M}_\odot}$, scalings of $M_{\rm gas}$ and $Y_{\rm SZ}$ simplify toward self-similar slope and constant intrinsic scatter (5 and 10 per cent, respectively) nearly independent of scale, making both measures ideal for cluster finding and characterization to $z=2$; (3) halo mass-conditioned likelihoods of hot gas mass and thermal energy at fixed halo mass closely follow a log-normal form; (4) despite normalization differences ranging up to $0.4$ dex between the two simulations, higher order scaling features such as slopes and property covariance show much better agreement. Slopes show appreciable redshift dependence at the group scale, while redshift dependence of the scatter is exhibited by low-mass FLAMINGO halos only; (5) property correlations are largely consistent between the simulations, with values that mainly agree with existing empirical measurements. We close with a literature survey placing our MPR slopes and intrinsic scatter estimates into community context.

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arXiv2025

Characterising galaxy cluster scaling relations as cosmic isotropy tracers using FLAMINGO simulations

The standard cosmological model, $\Lambda$CDM, assumes isotropy on large cosmic scales. However, recent studies using galaxy cluster scaling relations have reported an apparent $H_0$ anisotropy at $5.4\sigma$ that could be attributed to large bulk flows extending beyond ${500}\,\mathrm{Mpc}$, which is in disagreement with $\Lambda$CDM. To quantify the statistical tension of the observational galaxy cluster data used in past studies with $\Lambda$CDM, we utilised the isotropic (${2.8}\,\mathrm{Gpc})^3$ run of the FLAMINGO ($\Lambda$CDM) simulations, the largest hydrodynamical cosmological simulation available to date. We created 1728 simulated lightcones and studied the apparent level of anisotropy traced by X-ray and thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich scaling relations in the same cluster sample selection and methodology as in the past study. We find the probability of such apparent anisotropies randomly emerging in cluster scaling relations within a $\Lambda$CDM universe to be $0.12\%\, (3.2\sigma)$. The discrepancy goes up to $\sim 3.6\sigma$ when modelled as a bulk flow at $z < 0.1$. We also find that statistical noise accounts for over $80\%$ of the anisotropy amplitude in each lightcone, with large peculiar velocities contributing less than $20\%$. We also show that anisotropy amplitudes are highly sensitive to the intrinsic scatter in the scaling relations, with tighter relations providing stronger constraints. Nevertheless, the tension between the past results and $\Lambda$CDM persists, albeit at a lower significance than previously reported.

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arXiv2024

Hydrostatic mass bias for galaxy groups and clusters in the FLAMINGO simulations

The masses of galaxy clusters are commonly measured from X-ray observations under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium (HSE). This technique is known to underestimate the true mass systematically. The fiducial FLAMINGO cosmological hydrodynamical simulation predicts the median hydrostatic mass bias to increase from $b_\text{HSE} \equiv (M_\text{HSE,500c}-M_\text{500c})/M_\text{500c} \approx -0.1$ to -0.2 when the true mass increases from group to cluster mass scales. However, the bias is nearly independent of the hydrostatic mass. The scatter at fixed true mass is minimum for $M_\text{500c}\sim 10^{14}~\text{M}_\odot$, where $\sigma(b_\text{HSE})\approx 0.1$, but increases rapidly towards lower and higher masses. At a fixed true mass, the hydrostatic masses increase (decrease) with redshift on group (cluster) scales, and the scatter increases. The bias is insensitive to the choice of analytic functions assumed to represent the density and temperature profiles, but it is sensitive to the goodness of fit, with poorer fits corresponding to a stronger median bias and a larger scatter. The bias is also sensitive to the strength of stellar and AGN feedback. Models predicting lower gas fractions yield more (less) biased masses for groups (clusters). The scatter in the bias at fixed true mass is due to differences in the pressure gradients rather than in the temperature at $R_\text{500c}$. The total kinetic energies within $r_\text{500c}$ in low- and high-mass clusters are sub- and super-virial, respectively, though all become sub-virial when external pressure is accounted for. Analyses of the terms in the virial and Euler equations suggest that non-thermal motions, including rotation, account for most of the hydrostatic mass bias. However, we find that the mass bias estimated from X-ray luminosity weighted profiles strongly overestimates the deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium.

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arXiv2024

The FLAMINGO Project: Galaxy clusters in comparison to X-ray observations

Galaxy clusters are important probes for both cosmology and galaxy formation physics. We test the cosmological, hydrodynamical FLAMINGO simulations by comparing to observations of the gaseous properties of clusters measured from X-ray observations. FLAMINGO contains unprecedented numbers of massive galaxy groups ($>10^6$) and clusters ($>10^5$) and includes variations in both cosmology and galaxy formation physics. We predict the evolution of cluster scaling relations as well as radial profiles of the temperature, density, pressure, entropy, and metallicity for different masses and redshifts. We show that the differences between volume-, and X-ray-weighting of particles in the simulations, and between cool-core non cool-core samples, are similar in size as the differences between simulations for which the stellar and AGN feedback has been calibrated to produce significantly different gas fractions. Compared to thermally-driven AGN feedback, kinetic jet feedback calibrated to produce the same gas fraction at $R_{\rm 500c}$ yields a hotter core with higher entropies and lower densities, which translates into a smaller fraction of cool-core clusters. Stronger feedback, calibrated to produce lower gas fractions and hence lower gas densities, results in higher temperatures, entropies, and metallicities, but lower pressures. The scaling relations and thermodynamic profiles show almost no evolution with respect to self-similar expectations, except for the metallicity decreasing with redshift. We find that the temperature, density, pressure, and entropy profiles of clusters in the fiducial FLAMINGO simulation are in excellent agreement with observations, while the metallicities in the core are too high.

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arXiv2024

The FLAMINGO Project: A comparison of galaxy cluster samples selected on mass, X-ray luminosity, Compton-Y parameter, or galaxy richness

Galaxy clusters provide an avenue to expand our knowledge of cosmology and galaxy evolution. Because it is difficult to accurately measure the total mass of a large number of individual clusters, cluster samples are typically selected using an observable proxy for mass. Selection effects are therefore a key problem in understanding galaxy cluster statistics. We make use of the $(2.8~\rm{Gpc})^3$ FLAMINGO hydrodynamical simulation to investigate how selection based on X-ray luminosity, thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect or galaxy richness influences the halo mass distribution. We define our selection cuts based on the median value of the observable at a fixed mass and compare the resulting samples to a mass-selected sample. We find that all samples are skewed towards lower mass haloes. For X-ray luminosity and richness cuts below a critical value, scatter dominates over the trend with mass and the median mass becomes biased increasingly low with respect to a mass-selected sample. At $z\leq0.5$, observable cuts corresponding to median halo masses between $M_\text{500c}=10^{14}$ and $10^{15}~\rm{M_{\odot}}$ give nearly unbiased median masses for all selection methods, but X-ray selection results in biased medians for higher masses. For cuts corresponding to median masses $<10^{14}$ at $z\leq0.5$ and for all masses at $z\geq1$, only Compton-Y selection yields nearly unbiased median masses. Importantly, even when the median mass is unbiased, the scatter is not because for each selection the sample is skewed towards lower masses than a mass-selected sample. Each selection leads to a different bias in secondary quantities like cool-core fraction, temperature and gas fraction.

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arXiv2024

MAGAZ3NE: Massive, Extremely Dusty Galaxies at $z\sim2$ Lead to Photometric Overestimation of Number Densities of the Most Massive Galaxies at $3<z<4$

We present rest-frame optical spectra from Keck/MOSFIRE and Keck/NIRES of 16 candidate ultramassive galaxies targeted as part of the Massive Ancient Galaxies at $z>3$ Near-Infrared (MAGAZ3NE) Survey. These candidates were selected to have photometric redshifts $3\lesssim z_{\rm phot}<4$, photometric stellar masses log($M$/M$_\odot$)$>11.7$, and well-sampled photometric spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from the UltraVISTA and VIDEO surveys. In contrast to previous spectroscopic observations of blue star-forming and post-starburst ultramassive galaxies, candidates in this sample have very red SEDs implying significant dust attenuation, old stellar ages, and/or active galactic nuclei (AGN). Of these galaxies, eight are revealed to be heavily dust-obscured $2.0 3$, one is a $z\sim1.2$ dusty galaxy, and four galaxies do not have a confirmed spectroscopic redshift. In fact, none of the sample has |$z_{\rm spec}-z_{\rm phot}$|$<0.5$, suggesting difficulties for photometric redshift programs in fitting similarly red SEDs. The prevalence of these red interloper galaxies suggests that the number densities of high-mass galaxies are overestimated at $z\gtrsim3$ in large photometric surveys, helping to resolve the `impossibly early galaxy problem' and leading to much better agreement with cosmological galaxy simulations. A more complete spectroscopic survey of ultramassive galaxies is required to pin down the uncertainties on their number densities in the early universe.

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arXiv2024

Relativistic SZ temperatures and hydrostatic mass bias for massive clusters in the FLAMINGO simulations

The relativistic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect can be used to measure intracluster gas temperatures independently of X-ray spectroscopy. Here, we use the large-volume FLAMINGO simulation suite to determine whether SZ $y$-weighted temperatures lead to more accurate hydrostatic mass estimates in massive ($M_{\rm 500c} > 7.5\times 10^{14}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$) clusters than when using X-ray spectroscopic-like temperatures. We find this to be the case, on average. The median bias in the SZ mass at redshift zero is $\left< b \right> \equiv 1-\left< M_{\rm 500c,hse}/M_{\rm 500c,true} \right> = -0.05 \pm 0.01$, over 4 times smaller in magnitude than the X-ray spectroscopic-like case, $\left< b \right> = 0.22 \pm 0.01$. However, the scatter in the SZ bias, $σ_{b} \approx 0.2$, is around 40 per cent larger than for the X-ray case. We show that this difference is strongly affected by clusters with large pressure fluctuations, as expected from shocks in ongoing mergers. Selecting the clusters with the best-fitting generalized NFW pressure profiles, the median SZ bias almost vanishes, $\left< b \right> = -0.009 \pm 0.005$, and the scatter is halved to $σ_{b} \approx 0.1$. We study the origin of the SZ/X-ray difference and find that, at $R_{\rm 500c}$ and in the outskirts, SZ weighted gas better reflects the hot, hydrostatic atmosphere than the X-ray weighted gas. The SZ/X-ray temperature ratio increases with radius, a result we find to be insensitive to variations in baryonic physics, cosmology and numerical resolution.

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arXiv2024

The FLAMINGO project: the coupling between baryonic feedback and cosmology in light of the $S_8$ tension

Large-scale structure surveys have reported measurements of the density of matter, $\Omega_\mathrm{m}$, and the amplitude of clustering, $\sigma_8$, that are in tension with the values inferred from observations of the cosmic microwave background. While this may be a sign of new physics that slows the growth of structure at late times, strong astrophysical feedback processes could also be responsible. In this work, we argue that astrophysical processes are not independent of cosmology and that their coupling naturally leads to stronger baryonic feedback in cosmological models with suppressed structure formation or when combined with a mechanism that removes dark matter from halos. We illustrate this with two well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model known to suppress structure formation: massive neutrinos and decaying dark matter. Our results, based on the FLAMINGO suite of hydrodynamical simulations, show that the combined effect of baryonic and non-baryonic suppression mechanisms is greater than the sum of its parts, particularly for decaying dark matter. We also show that the dependence of baryonic feedback on cosmology can be modelled as a function of the ratio $f_\mathrm{b}/c^2_\mathrm{v}\sim f_\mathrm{b}/(\Omega_\mathrm{m}\sigma_8)^{1/4}$ of the universal baryon fraction, $f_\mathrm{b}$, to a velocity-based definition of halo concentration, $c^2_\mathrm{v}$, giving an accurate fitting formula for the baryonic suppression of the matter power spectrum. Although the combination of baryonic and non-baryonic suppression mechanisms can resolve the tension, the models with neutrinos and decaying dark matter are challenged by constraints on the expansion history.

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arXiv2024

Inferring the dark matter splashback radius from cluster gas and observable profiles in the FLAMINGO simulations

The splashback radius, coinciding with the minimum in the dark matter radial density gradient, is thought to be a universal definition of the edge of a dark matter halo. Observational methods to detect it have traced the dark matter using weak gravitational lensing or galaxy number counts. Recent attempts have also claimed the detection of a similar feature in Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) observations of the hot intracluster gas. Here, we use the FLAMINGO simulations to investigate whether an extremum gradient in a similar position to the splashback radius is predicted to occur in the cluster gas profiles. We find that the minimum in the gradient of the stacked 3D gas density and pressure profiles, and the maximum in the gradient of the entropy profile, broadly align with the splashback feature though there are significant differences. While the dark matter splashback radius varies with specific mass accretion rate, in agreement with previous work, the radial position of the deepest minimum in the log-slope of the gas density is more sensitive to halo mass. In addition, we show that a similar minimum is also present in projected 2D pseudo-observable profiles: emission measure (X-ray); Compton-$y$ (SZ) and surface mass density (weak lensing). We find that the latter traces the dark matter results reasonably well albeit the minimum occurs at a slightly smaller radius. While results for the gas profiles are largely insensitive to accretion rate and various observable proxies for dynamical state, they do depend on the strength of the feedback processes.

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arXiv2024

The FLAMINGO project: Baryonic impact on weak gravitational lensing convergence peak counts

Weak gravitational lensing convergence peaks, the local maxima in weak lensing convergence maps, have been shown to contain valuable cosmological information complementary to commonly used two-point statistics. To exploit the full power of weak lensing for cosmology, we must model baryonic feedback processes because these reshape the matter distribution on non-linear and mildly non-linear scales. We study the impact of baryonic physics on the number density of weak lensing peaks using the FLAMINGO cosmological hydrodynamical simulation suite. We generate ray-traced full-sky convergence maps mimicking the characteristics of a Stage IV weak lensing survey. We compare the number densities of peaks in simulations that have been calibrated to reproduce the observed galaxy mass function and cluster gas fraction or to match a shifted version of these, and that use either thermally driven or jet AGN feedback. We show that the differences induced by realistic baryonic feedback prescriptions (typically $5 - 30\%$ for $κ= 0.1 - 0.4$) are smaller than those induced by reasonable variations in cosmological parameters ($20 - 60\%$ for $κ= 0.1 - 0.4$) but must be modeled carefully to obtain unbiased results. The reasons behind these differences can be understood by considering the impact of feedback on halo masses, or by considering the impact of different cosmological parameters on the halo mass function. Our analysis demonstrates that, for the range of models we investigated, the baryonic suppression is insensitive to changes in cosmology up to $κ\approx 0.4$ and that the higher $κ$ regime is dominated by Poisson noise and cosmic variance.

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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.

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