arXiv subjects

Sergio Martin-Alvarez

Publications and source records attributed to Sergio Martin-Alvarez.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Extragalactic Magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). VII. A Tomographic View of Far-infrared and Radio Polarimetric Observations through MHD Simulations of Galaxies

The structure of magnetic fields in galaxies remains poorly constrained, despite the importance of magnetism in the evolution of galaxies. Radio synchrotron and far-infrared (FIR) polarization and polarimetric observations are the best methods to measure galactic scale properties of magnetic fields in galaxies beyond the Milky Way. We use synthetic polarimetric observations of a simulated galaxy to identify and quantify the regions, scales, and interstellar medium (ISM) phases probed at FIR and radio wavelengths. Our studied suite of magnetohydrodynamical cosmological zoom-in simulations features high-resolutions (10 pc full-cell size) and multiple magnetization models. Our synthetic observations have a striking resemblance to those of observed galaxies. We find that the total and polarized radio emission extends to approximately double the altitude above the galactic disk (half-intensity disk thickness of $h_\text{I radio} \sim h_\text{PI radio} = 0.23 \pm 0.03$ kpc) relative to the total FIR and polarized emission that are concentrated in the disk midplane ($h_\text{I FIR} \sim h_\text{PI FIR} = 0.11 \pm 0.01$ kpc). Radio emission traces magnetic fields at scales of $\gtrsim 300$ pc, whereas FIR emission probes magnetic fields at the smallest scales of our simulations. These scales are comparable to our spatial resolution and well below the spatial resolution ($<300$ pc) of existing FIR polarimetric measurements. Finally, we confirm that synchrotron emission traces a combination of the warm neutral and cold neutral gas phases, whereas FIR emission follows the densest gas in the cold neutral phase in the simulation. These results are independent of the ISM magnetic field strength. The complementarity we measure between radio and FIR wavelengths motivates future multiwavelength polarimetric observations to advance our knowledge of extragalactic magnetism.

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arXiv2024

Dwarf galaxies as a probe of a primordially magnetized Universe

The true nature of primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) and their role in the formation of galaxies still remains elusive. To shed light on these unknowns, we investigate their impact by varying two sets of properties: (i) accounting for the effect of PMFs on the initial matter power spectrum, and (ii) accounting for their magneto-hydrodynamical effects on the formation of galaxies. By comparing both we can determine the dominant agent in shaping galaxy evolution. We use the magneto-hydrodynamics code RAMSES, to generate multiple zoom-in simulations for eight different host halos of dwarf galaxies across a wide luminosity range of $10^3-10^6\,L_{\odot}$. We explore a variety of primordial magnetic field (comoving) strengths ranging from $0.05$ to $0.50\,\mathrm{nG}$. We find magnetic fields in the interstellar medium not only modify star formation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies but also completely prevent the formation of stars in less compact ultra-faints with halo mass and stellar mass below $\sim 2.5\cdot10^9$ and $3\cdot10^6\,M_{\odot}$, respectively. At high redshifts, the impact of PMFs on host halos of dwarf galaxies through the modification of the matter power spectrum is more dominant than the influence of magneto-hydrodynamics in shaping their gaseous structure. Through the amplification of small perturbations ranging in mass from $10^7$ to $10^9\,M_{\odot}$ in the $Λ$CDM$+$PMFs matter power spectrum, primordial fields expedite the formation of the first dark matter halos, leading to an earlier onset and a higher star formation rate at redshifts $z>12$.

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arXiv2024

Deciphering Lyman-$α$ Emission Deep into the Epoch of Reionisation

During the epoch of reionisation the first galaxies were enshrouded in pristine neutral gas, with one of the brightest emission lines in star-forming galaxies, Lyman-$α$ (Ly$α$), expected to remain undetected until the Universe became ionised. Providing an explanation for the surprising detection of Ly$α$ in these early galaxies is a major challenge for extra-galactic studies. Recent JWST observations have reignited the debate on whether residence in an overdensity of galaxies is a it sufficient and necessary condition for Ly$α$ to escape. Here, we take unique advantage of both high-resolution and high-sensitivity images from the JWST instrument NIRCam to reveal that all galaxies in a sample of z>7 Ly$α$ emitters have close companions. We exploit novel on-the-fly radiative transfer magnetohydrodynamical simulations with cosmic ray feedback to show that galaxies with frequent mergers have very bursty star formation which drives episodes of high intrinsic Ly$α$ emission and facilitates the escape of Ly$α$ photons along channels cleared of neutral gas. We conclude that the rapid build up of stellar mass through mergers presents a compelling solution to the long-standing puzzle of the detection of Ly$α$ emission deep into the epoch of reionisation.

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arXiv2023

The Pandora project. I: the impact of radiation and cosmic rays on baryonic and dark matter properties of dwarf galaxies

Enshrouded in several well-known controversies, dwarf galaxies have been extensively studied to learn about the underlying cosmology, notwithstanding that physical processes regulating their properties are poorly understood. To shed light on these processes, we introduce the Pandora suite of 17 high-resolution (3.5 parsec half-cell side) dwarf galaxy formation cosmological simulations. Commencing with thermo-turbulent star formation and mechanical supernova feedback, we gradually increase the complexity of physics incorporated leading to full-physics models combining magnetism, on-the-fly radiative transfer and the corresponding stellar photoheating, and SN-accelerated cosmic rays. We investigate combinations of these processes, comparing them with observations to constrain what are the main mechanisms determining dwarf galaxy properties. We find hydrodynamical `SN feedback-only' simulations struggle to produce realistic dwarf galaxies, leading either to overquenched or too centrally concentrated, dispersion dominated systems when compared to observed field dwarfs. Accounting for radiation with cosmic rays results in extended and rotationally-supported systems. Spatially `distributed' feedback leads to realistic stellar and HI masses as well as kinematics. Furthermore, resolved kinematic maps of our full-physics models predict kinematically distinct clumps and kinematic misalignments of stars, HI and HII after star formation events. Episodic star formation combined with its associated feedback induces more core-like dark matter central profiles, which our `SN feedback-only' models struggle to achieve. Our results demonstrate the complexity of physical processes required to capture realistic dwarf galaxy properties, making tangible predictions for integral field unit surveys, radio synchrotron emission, and for galaxy and multi-phase interstellar medium properties that JWST will probe.

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arXiv2023

The impact of cosmic rays on the interstellar medium and galactic outflows of Milky Way analogues

During the last decade, cosmological simulations have managed to reproduce realistic and morphologically diverse galaxies, spanning the Hubble sequence. Central to this success was a phenomenological calibration of the few included feedback processes, whilst glossing over higher complexity baryonic physics. This approach diminishes the predictive power of such simulations, preventing to further our understanding of galaxy formation. To tackle this fundamental issue, we investigate the impact of cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic fields on the interstellar medium (ISM) and the launching of outflows in a cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy. We find that including CRs decreases the stellar mass of the galaxy by a factor of 10 at high redshift and $\sim 4$ at cosmic noon, leading to a stellar mass to halo mass ratio in good agreement with abundance matching models. Such decrease is caused by two effects: i) a reduction of cold, high-density, star-forming gas, and ii) a larger fraction of SN events exploding at lower densities, where they have a higher impact. SN-injected CRs produce enhanced, multi-phase galactic outflows, which are accelerated by CR pressure gradients in the circumgalactic medium of the galaxy. While the mass budget of these outflows is dominated by the warm ionised gas, warm neutral and cold gas phases contribute significantly at high redshifts. Importantly, our work shows that future JWST observations of galaxies and their multi-phase outflows across cosmic time have the ability to constrain the role of CRs in regulating star formation.

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arXiv2023

Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program) -- V: First results on the magnetic field orientation of galaxies

We present the analysis of the magnetic field ($B$-field) structure of galaxies measured with far-infrared (FIR) and radio (3 and 6 cm) polarimetric observations. We use the first data release of the Survey on extragALactic magnetiSm with SOFIA (SALSA) of 14 nearby ($<20$ Mpc) galaxies with resolved (5 arcsec-18 arcsec; $90$ pc--$1$ kpc) imaging polarimetric observations using HAWC+/SOFIA from $53$ to $214$ \um. We compute the magnetic pitch angle ($Ψ_{B}$) profiles as a function of the galactrocentric radius. We introduce a new magnetic alignment parameter ($ζ$) to estimate the disordered-to-ordered $B$-field ratio in spiral $B$-fields. We find FIR and radio wavelengths to not generally trace the same $B$-field morphology in galaxies. The $Ψ_{B}$ profiles tend to be more ordered with galactocentric radius in radio ($ζ_{\rm{6cm}} = 0.93\pm0.03$) than in FIR ($ζ_{\rm{154μm}} = 0.84\pm0.14$). For spiral galaxies, FIR $B$-fields are $2-75$\% more turbulent than the radio $B$-fields. For starburst galaxies, we find that FIR polarization is a better tracer of the $B$-fields along the galactic outflows than radio polarization. Our results suggest that the $B$-fields associated with dense, dusty, turbulent star-forming regions, those traced at FIR, are less ordered than warmer, less-dense regions, those traced at radio, of the interstellar medium. The FIR $B$-fields seem to be more sensitive to the activity of the star-forming regions and the morphology of the molecular clouds within a vertical height of few hundred pc in the disk of spiral galaxies than the radio $B$-fields.

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arXiv2022

Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). VI. The magnetic fields in the multi-phase interstellar medium of the Antennae galaxies

Mergers are thought to be a fundamental channel for galaxy growth, perturbing the gas dynamics and the magnetic fields (B-fields) in the interstellar medium (ISM). However, the mechanisms that amplify and dissipate B-fields during a merger remain unclear. We characterize the morphology of the ordered B-fields in the multi-phase ISM of the closest merger of two spiral galaxies, the Antennae galaxies. We compare the inferred B-fields using $154~μ$m thermal dust and $11$ cm radio synchrotron emission polarimetric observations. We find that the $154~μ$m B-fields are more ordered across the Antennae galaxies than the $11$ cm B-fields. The turbulent-to-ordered $154~μ$m B-field increases at the galaxy cores and star-forming regions. The relic spiral arm has an ordered spiral $154~μ$m B-field, while the $11$ cm B-field is radial. The $154~μ$m B-field may be dominated by turbulent dynamos with high $^{12}$CO(1-0) velocity dispersion driven by star-forming regions, while the $11$ cm B-field is cospatial with high HI velocity dispersion driven by galaxy interaction. This result shows the dissociation between the warm gas mainly disturbed by the merger, and the dense gas still following the dynamics of the relic spiral arm. We find a $\sim8.9$ kpc scale ordered B-field connecting the two galaxies. The base of the tidal tail is cospatial with the HI and $^{12}$CO(1-0) emission and has compressed and/or sheared $154~μ$m and $11$ cm B-fields driven by the merger. We suggest that amplify B-fields, with respect to the rest of the system and other spiral galaxies, may be supporting the gas flow between both galaxies and the tidal tail.

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arXiv2022

Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program) -- IV: Program overview and first results on the polarization fraction

We present the first data release of the Survey on extragALactic magnetiSm with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program) with a set of 14 nearby ($<20$ Mpc) galaxies with resolved imaging polarimetric observations using HAWC+ from $53$ to $214$ $μ$m at a resolution of $5-18$" ($90$ pc $-$ $1$ kpc). We introduce the definitions and background on extragalactic magnetism, and present the scientific motivation and sample selection of the program. Here, we focus on the general trends in the emissive polarization fraction. Far-infrared polarimetric observations trace the thermal polarized emission of magnetically aligned dust grains across the galaxy disks with polarization fractions of $P=0-15$% in the cold, $T_{\rm d} = [19,48]$ K, and dense, $\log_{10}(N_{\rm HI+H_{2}}) = [19.96,22.91]$, interstellar medium. The spiral galaxies show a median $\langle P_{154μm} \rangle = 3.3\pm0.9 $% across the disks. We report the first polarized spectrum of starburst galaxies showing a minimum within $89-154$ $μ$m. The falling $53-154$ $μ$m polarized spectrum may be due to a decrease in the dust grain alignment efficiency produced by variations in dust temperatures along the line-of-sight in the galactic outflow. We find that the starburst galaxies and the star-forming regions within normal galaxies have the lowest polarization fractions. We find that 50% (7 out of 14) of the galaxies require a broken power-law in the $P-N_{HI+H_{2}}$ and $P-T_{d}$ relations with three different trends. Group 1 has a relative increase of anisotropic random B-fields produced by compression or shear of B-fields in the galactic outflows, starburst rings, and inner-bar of galaxies; and Groups 2 and 3 have a relative increase of isotropic random B-fields driven by star-forming regions in the spiral arms, and/or an increase of dust grain alignment efficiency caused by shock-driven regions or evolutionary stages of a galaxy.

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arXiv2022

Radiation-MagnetoHydrodynamics simulations of cosmic ray feedback in disc galaxies

Cosmic rays (CRs) are thought to play an important role in galaxy evolution. We study their effect when coupled to other important sources of feedback, namely supernovae and stellar radiation, by including CR anisotropic diffusion and radiative losses but neglecting CR streaming. Using the RAMSES-RT code, we perform the first radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations of isolated disc galaxies with and without CRs. We study galaxies embedded in dark matter haloes of $10^{10}$, $10^{11}$ and $10^{12}\, \rm M_{\odot}$ with a maximum resolution of $9 \,\rm pc$. We find that CRs reduce star formation rate in our two dwarf galaxies by a factor 2, with decreasing efficiency with increasing galaxy mass. They increase significantly the outflow mass loading factor in all our galaxies and make the outflows colder. We study the impact of the CR diffusion coefficient, exploring values from $κ= 10^{27}$ to $\rm 3\times 10^{29}\, cm^2\, s^{-1}$. With lower $κ$, CRs remain confined for longer on small scales and are consequently efficient in suppressing star formation, whereas a higher diffusion coefficient reduces the effect on star formation and increases the generation of cold outflows. Finally, we compare CR feedback to a calibrated 'strong' supernova feedback model known to sufficiently regulate star formation in high-redshift cosmological simulations. We find that CR feedback is not sufficiently strong to replace this strong supernova feedback. As they tend to smooth out the ISM and fill it with denser gas, CRs also lower the escape fraction of Lyman continuum photons from galaxies.

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arXiv2022

Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program) -- III: First data release and on-the-fly polarization mapping characterization

We describe the data processing of the Survey on extragALactic magnetiSm with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). This first data release presents 33% (51.34h out of 155.7h, including overheads) of the total awarded time taken from January 2020 to December 2021. Our observations were performed using the newly implemented on-the-fly mapping (OTFMAP) technique in the polarimetric mode. We present the pipeline steps to obtain homogeneously reduced high-level data products of polarimetric maps of galaxies for use in scientific analysis. Our approach has a general design and can be applied to sources smaller than the field-of-view of the HAWC+ array in any given band. We estimate that the OTFMAP polarimetric mode offers a reduction of observing overheads by a factor 2.34, and an improvement in sensitivity by a factor 1.80 when compared to previously obtained polarimetric observations using the chopping and nodding mode. The OTFMAP is a significant optimization of the polarimetric mode of HAWC+ as it ultimately reduces the cost of operations of SOFIA/HAWC+ by increasing the science collected per hour of observation up to an overall factor of 2.49. The OTFMAP polarimetric mode is the standard observing strategy of SALSA. The results and quantitative analysis of this first data release are presented in Papers IV and V of the series.

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arXiv2022

Towards convergence of turbulent dynamo amplification in cosmological simulations of galaxies

Our understanding of the process through which magnetic fields reached their observed strengths in present-day galaxies remains incomplete. One of the advocated solutions is a turbulent dynamo mechanism that rapidly amplifies weak magnetic field seeds to the order of ${\sim}μ$G. However, simulating the turbulent dynamo is a very challenging computational task due to the demanding span of spatial scales and the complexity of the required numerical methods. In particular, turbulent velocity and magnetic fields are extremely sensitive to the spatial discretisation of simulated domains. To explore how refinement schemes affect galactic turbulence and amplification of magnetic fields in cosmological simulations, we compare two refinement strategies. A traditional quasi-Lagrangian adaptive mesh refinement approach focusing spatial resolution on dense regions, and a new refinement method that resolves the entire galaxy with a high resolution quasi-uniform grid. Our new refinement strategy yields much faster magnetic energy amplification than the quasi-Lagrangian method, which is also significantly greater than the adiabatic compressional estimate indicating that the extra amplification is produced through stretching of magnetic field lines. Furthermore, with our new refinement the magnetic energy growth factor scales with resolution following $\propto \Dres^{-1/2}$, in much better agreement with small-scale turbulent box simulations. Finally, we find evidence suggesting most magnetic amplification in our simulated galaxies occurs in the warm phase of their interstellar medium, which has a better developed turbulent field with our new refinement strategy.

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arXiv2022

The Nature of High ${\rm [OIII]}_{\rm 88μm}$/${\rm [CII]}_{\rm 158μm}$ Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization: Low Carbon Abundance and a Top-Heavy IMF?

ALMA observations of $z>6$ galaxies have revealed abnormally high [OIII]$_{\rm 88μm}$/[CII]$_{\rm 158μm}$ ratios and [CII]$_{\rm 158μm}$ deficits compared to local galaxies. Numerous solutions have been proposed including differences in C and O abundance ratios, observational bias, and differences in ISM properties. In order to elucidate the underlying physics that drives this high-redshift phenomenon, we employ SPHINX$^{20}$, a state-of-the-art, cosmological radiation-hydrodynamics simulation, that resolves detailed ISM properties of thousands of galaxies in the epoch of reionization. We find that the observed $z>6$ [OIII]-SFR and [CII]-SFR relations can only be reproduced when the C/O abundance ratio is $\sim8\times$ lower than Solar and the total metal production is $\sim4\times$ higher than that of a Kroupa IMF. This implies that high-redshift galaxies are potentially primarily enriched by low-metallicity core-collapse supernovae with a more top-heavy IMF. As AGB stars and type-Ia supernova begin to contribute to the galaxy metallicity, both the [CII]-SFR and [CII] luminosity functions are predicted to converge to observed values at $z\sim4.5$. While we demonstrate that ionisation parameter, LyC escape fraction, ISM gas density, and CMB attenuation all drive galaxies towards higher [OIII]/[CII], observed values at $z>6$ can only be reproduced with substantially lower C/O abundances compared to Solar. The combination of [CII] and [OIII] can be used to predict the values of ionisation parameter, ISM gas density, and LyC escape fraction and we provide estimates of these quantities for nine observed $z>6$ galaxies. Finally, we demonstrate that [OI]$_{\rm 63μm}$ can be used as a replacement for [CII] in high-redshift galaxies where [CII] is unobserved and argue that more observation time should be used to target [OI] at $z>6$. (Abridged)

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arXiv2021

Momentum deposition of supernovae with cosmic rays

The cataclysmic explosions of massive stars as supernovae are one of the key ingredients of galaxy formation. However, their evolution is not well understood in the presence of magnetic fields or cosmic rays (CRs). We study the expansion of individual supernova remnants (SNRs) using our suite of 3D hydrodynamical (HD), magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) and CRMHD simulations generated using RAMSES. We explore multiple ambient densities, magnetic fields and fractions of supernova energy deposited as CRs ($χ_{\rm CR}$), accounting for cosmic ray anisotropic diffusion and streaming. All our runs have comparable evolutions until the end of the Sedov-Taylor phase. However, our CRMHD simulations experience an additional CR pressure-driven snowplough phase once the CR energy dominates inside the SNR. We present a model for the final momentum deposited by supernovae that captures this new phase: $p_{\rm SNR} = 2.87\times 10^{5} (χ_{\text{CR}} + 1)^{4.82}\left(\frac{n}{\text{cm}^{-3}}\right)^{-0.196} M_{\odot}$ km s$^{-1}$. Assuming a 10% fraction of SN energy in CRs leads to a 50% boost of the final momentum, with our model predicting even higher impacts at lower ambient densities. The anisotropic diffusion of CRs assuming an initially uniform magnetic field leads to extended gas and cosmic ray outflows escaping from the supernova poles. We also study a tangled initial configuration of the magnetic field, resulting instead in a quasi-isotropic diffusion of CRs and earlier momentum deposition. Finally, synthetic synchrotron observations of our simulations using the POLARIS code show that the local magnetic field configuration in the interstellar medium modifies the overall radio emission morphology and polarisation.

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arXiv2021

Unraveling the origin of magnetic fields in galaxies

Despite their ubiquity, there are many open questions regarding galactic and cosmic magnetic fields. Specifically, current observational constraints cannot rule out if magnetic fields observed in galaxies were generated in the Early Universe or are of astrophysical nature. Motivated by this we use our magnetic tracers algorithm to investigate whether the signatures of primordial magnetic fields persist in galaxies throughout cosmic time. We simulate a Milky Way-like galaxy in four scenarios: magnetised solely by primordial magnetic fields, magnetised exclusively by SN-injected magnetic fields, and two combined primordial + SN magnetisation cases. We find that once primordial magnetic fields with a comoving strength $B_0 >10^{-12}$ G are considered, they remain the primary source of galaxy magnetisation. Our magnetic tracers show that, even combined with galactic sources of magnetisation, when primordial magnetic fields are strong, they source the large-scale fields in the warm metal-poor phase of the simulated galaxy. In this case, the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium can be used to probe $B_0$ without risk of pollution by magnetic fields originated in the galaxy. Furthermore, whether magnetic fields are primordial or astrophysically-sourced can be inferred by studying local gas metallicity. As a result, we predict that future state-of-the-art observational facilities of magnetic fields in galaxies will have the potential to unravel astrophysical and primordial magnetic components of our Universe.

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arXiv2021

Introducing SPHINX-MHD: The Impact of Primordial Magnetic Fields on the First Galaxies, Reionization, and the Global 21cm Signal

We present the first results from SPHINX-MHD, a suite of cosmological radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations designed to study the impact of primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) on galaxy formation and the evolution of the intergalactic medium during the epoch of reionization. The simulations are among the first to employ multi-frequency, on-the-fly radiation transfer and constrained transport ideal MHD in a cosmological context to simultaneously model the inhomogeneous process of reionization as well as the growth of PMFs. We run a series of $(5\,\text{cMpc})^3$ cosmological volumes, varying both the strength of the seed magnetic field ($B_0$) and its spectral index ($n_B$). We find that PMFs that have $n_B > -0.562\log_{10}\left(\frac{B_0}{1{\rm n}G}\right) - 3.35$ produce electron optical depths ($τ_e$) that are inconsistent with CMB constraints due to the unrealistically early collapse of low-mass dwarf galaxies. For $n_B\geq-2.9$, our constraints are considerably tighter than the $\sim{\rm n}G$ constraints from Planck. PMFs that do not satisfy our constraints have little impact on the reionization history or the shape of the UV luminosity function. Likewise, detecting changes in the Lya forest due to PMFs will be challenging because photoionisation and photoheating efficiently smooth the density field. However, we find that the first absorption feature in the global 21cm signal is a sensitive indicator of the properties of the PMFs, even for those that satisfy our $τ_e$ constraint. Furthermore, strong PMFs can marginally increase the escape of LyC photons by up to 25\% and shrink the effective radii of galaxies by $\sim44\%$ which could increase the completeness fraction of galaxy surveys. Finally, our simulations show that surveys with a magnitude limit of ${\rm M_{UV,1500}=-13}$ can probe the sources that provide the majority of photons for reionization out to $z=12$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Cosmological Magnetogenesis: The Biermann Battery during the Epoch of Reionization

We investigate the effect of the Biermann battery during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) using cosmological Adaptive Mesh Refinement simulations within the framework of the SPHINX project. We develop a novel numerical technique to solve for the Biermann battery term in the Constrained Transport method, preserving both the zero divergence of the magnetic field and the absence of Biermann battery for isothermal flows. The structure-preserving nature of our numerical method turns out to be very important to minimise numerical errors during validation tests of the propagation of a Strömgren sphere and of a Sedov blast wave. We then use this new method to model the evolution of a 2.5 and 5 co-moving Mpc cosmological box with a state-of-the-art galaxy formation model within the RAMSES code. Contrary to previous findings, we show that three different Biermann battery channels emerge: the first one is associated with linear perturbations before the EoR, the second one is the classical Biermann battery associated with reionization fronts during the EoR, and the third one is associated with strong, supernova-driven outflows. While the two former channels generate spontaneously volume-filling magnetic fields with a strength on the order or below $10^{-20}$ G, the latter, owing to the higher plasma temperature and a marginally-resolved turbulent dynamo, reaches a field strength as high as $10^{-18}$ G in the intergalactic medium around massive haloes.

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arXiv2020

How primordial magnetic fields shrink galaxies

As one of the prime contributors to the interstellar medium energy budget, magnetic fields naturally play a part in shaping the evolution of galaxies. Galactic magnetic fields can originate from strong primordial magnetic fields provided these latter remain below current observational upper limits. To understand how such magnetic fields would affect the global morphological and dynamical properties of galaxies, we use a suite of high-resolution constrained transport magneto-hydrodynamic cosmological zoom simulations where we vary the initial magnetic field strength and configuration along with the prescription for stellar feedback. We find that strong primordial magnetic fields delay the onset of star formation and drain the rotational support of the galaxy, diminishing the radial size of the galactic disk and driving a higher amount of gas towards the centre. This is also reflected in mock UVJ observations by an increase in the light profile concentration of the galaxy. We explore the possible mechanisms behind such a reduction in angular momentum, focusing on magnetic braking. Finally, noticing that the effects of primordial magnetic fields are amplified in the presence of stellar feedback, we briefly discuss whether the changes we measure would also be expected for galactic magnetic fields of non-primordial origin.

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arXiv2019

Modelling baryonic feedback for survey cosmology

Observational cosmology in the next decade will rely on probes of the distribution of matter in the redshift range between $0<z<3$ to elucidate the nature of dark matter and dark energy. In this redshift range, galaxy formation is known to have a significant impact on observables such as two-point correlations of galaxy shapes and positions, altering their amplitude and scale dependence beyond the expected statistical uncertainty of upcoming experiments at separations under 10 Mpc. Successful extraction of information in such a regime thus requires, at the very least, unbiased models for the impact of galaxy formation on the matter distribution, and can benefit from complementary observational priors. This work reviews the current state of the art in the modelling of baryons for cosmology, from numerical methods to approximate analytical prescriptions, and makes recommendations for studies in the next decade, including a discussion of potential probe combinations that can help constrain the role of baryons in cosmological studies. We focus, in particular, on the modelling of the matter power spectrum, $P(k,z)$, as a function of scale and redshift, and of the observables derived from this quantity. This work is the result of a workshop held at the University of Oxford in November of 2018.

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