arXiv subjects

Takayuki R. Saitoh

Publications and source records attributed to Takayuki R. Saitoh.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

SIRIUS Project: Dynamical Evolution of Primordial Binaries during Star Cluster Formation

Binary populations are closely linked to the star formation process; however, their primordial properties can be changed by subsequent dynamical interactions within their natal clusters. The aim of this study is to clarify how different primordial binary populations affect the evolution of multiplicity and the global structure of forming star clusters. We investigate the dynamical evolution of primordial binaries during star cluster formation using self-consistent Nbody/smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations that follow the collapse of a molecular cloud to a star cluster. We systematically compare three star formation models: close binary (CB), wide binary (WB), and single star (SS) formation model. In CB and WB models, the multiplicity fraction decreases with time due to dynamical interactions. In particular, the fraction in the WB model drops to a level comparable to that in the SS model. The multiplicity fraction of high-mass stars is similarly high in all models, whereas only the CB model shows a relatively high fraction for low-mass stars. Due to the assumption of equal-mass binary formation, the CB and WB models exhibit an excess at q= 1 in the mass-ratio distribution, while the SS model has no clear trend. Frequent few-body interactions generate distinct stellar populations inside and outside the cluster: the multiplicity fraction within the cluster is systematically higher, while mass functions in the outside have a shallower slope. Finally, stellar density profiles in the clusters are broadly similar among all models. The primordial binary population significantly affects the final binary properties, while having only a limited impact on their host cluster structures. Our results suggest that close binaries need to form at the star formation stage to reproduce the observed multiplicity fraction of low-mass stars and the excess of equal-mass binaries.

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arXiv2026

Vaulting the barrier: An intrinsic mechanism to fuel the gas beyond the nuclear ring into the central region of barred galaxies

Gas delivery to galactic centers powers nuclear starbursts and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), yet bar-driven inflow is generally expected to stall in a nuclear ring a few hundred parsecs across. Using three-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamic simulations in a fixed barred potential, we identify a bypass channel in which a fraction of the inflowing gas acquires vertical momentum, vaults across the ring, and reaches the inner few tens of parsecs. This pathway is absent in two-dimensional calculations, which instead predict long-lived stagnation at the ring. We find that the circumnuclear material within $\sim 50$ pc originates from gas initially located outside the ring ($\gtrsim 300$ pc), rather than from secondary inflow out of the ring itself. Successful delivery requires both a sufficiently large vertical excursion, $|z| \sim 100$ pc before encountering the ring, and substantial loss of azimuthal angular momentum $L_z$. The resulting inflow is organized rather than chaotic: center-reaching trajectories are confined to a limited spatial region set by the scale height of the ring gas. Most bar-driven gas still accumulates near the resonance and fuels star formation in the nuclear ring, but the vaulting stream selects a modest yet sufficient fraction that penetrates to the circumnuclear disk. These results suggest that intrinsically three-dimensional gas motions help link nuclear starbursts, AGN fueling, and the frequent misalignment of nuclear disks with respect to their host galaxies.

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arXiv2026

Nitrogen enhancement of GN-z11 by metal pollution from supermassive stars

Spectroscopic observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed young, compact, high-redshift ($z$) galaxies with high nitrogen-to-oxygen (N/O) ratios. GN-z11 at z=10.6 is one of these galaxies. One possible scenario for such a high N/O ratio is pollution from supermassive stars (SMSs), from which stellar winds are expected to be nitrogen-rich. The abundance pattern is determined by both galaxy evolution and SMS pollution, but so far, simple one-zone models have been used. Using a galaxy formation simulation, we tested the SMS scenario. We used a cosmological zoom-in simulation that includes chemical evolution driven by rotating massive stars (Wolf-Rayet stars), supernovae, and asymptotic giant branch stars. As a post-process, we assumed the formation of an SMS with a mass between $10^3$ and $10^5$ $M_\odot$ and investigated the contribution of its ejecta to the abundance pattern. The N/O ratio was enhanced by the SMS ejecta, and the abundance pattern of GN-z11, including carbon-to-oxygen and oxygen-to-hydrogen ratios, was reproduced by our SMS pollution model if the pollution mass fraction ranges within 10-30 per cent. Such a pollution fraction can be realized when the gas ionized by the SMS is polluted, and the gas density is $10^4$-$10^5$ cm$^{-3}$ assuming a Strömgren sphere. We also compared the abundance pattern with those of other N/O-enhanced high-$z$ galaxies. Some of these galaxies can also be explained by SMS pollution.

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arXiv2026

Self-consistent $N$-body simulation of Planetesimal-Driven Migration. II. The effect of PDM on planet formation from a planetesimal disk

According to the canonical planet formation theory, planets form "in-situ" within a planetesimal disk via runaway and oligarchic growth. This theory, however, cannot naturally account for the formation timescale of ice giants or the existence of diverse exoplanetary systems. Planetary migration is a key to resolving these problems. One well-known mechanism of planetary migration is planetesimal-driven migration (PDM), which can let planets undergo significant migration through gravitational scattering of planetesimals. In our previous paper (Jinno et al. 2024, PASJ, 76, 1309), we investigated the migration of a single planet through PDM, addressing previously unexplored aspects of both the gravitational interactions among planetesimals and the interactions with disk gas. Here we perform the first high-resolution simulations of planet formation from a large-scale planetesimal disk, incorporating planet-gas disk interactions, planet-planetesimal interactions, gravitational interactions among all planetesimals, and physical collisions between planetesimals to investigate the role of PDM in the planet formation process. Our results show that protoplanets undergo dynamic inward/outward migrations during the runaway growth stage via PDM. Moreover, orbital repulsion combined with PDM tends to make two groups of protoplanets, outer ones going outward and inner ones going inward. Such dynamic migration significantly influences the early stages of planetary formation. These findings provide a viable pathway for the formation of Earth-like planets and ice giants' cores. Furthermore, they suggest that a standard protoplanetary disk model can account for the planetary migration necessary to explain diverse exoplanetary systems without the need for additional hypotheses.

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arXiv2026

SIRIUS: Dark matter cusp evolution in dense dwarf galaxies

Dwarf galaxies have a wide variety of structures, such as dark matter (DM) distribution, stellar-to-halo mass ratio, and stellar density. Recent high-resolution simulations have shown a variety of stellar-to-halo mass ratios for dwarf galaxies with a DM halo mass of $\sim 10^9 M_{\odot}$ at $z=0$. In this study, we performed cosmological $N$-body/smoothed-particle hydrodynamic zoom-in simulations of dwarf galaxies with the highest gas and DM particle mass resolutions of 2.37 $M_{\odot}$ and 12.8 $M_{\odot}$, respectively. The stellar-to-DM halo mass ratio of one of our simulated dwarf galaxies was $\sim 10^{-4}$, typical for satellites of the Milky Way. The stellar mass ($10^5 M_{\odot}$) and half-mass radius (68 pc) were also similar to those of the satellites of the Milky Way. The power-law slope of the DM halo was $α= -1.1$. On the other hand, the other simulated galaxy exhibited a stellar-to-halo mass ratio of $\sim 10^{-3}$ and a steeper power-law slope ($α=-1.9$) than the other; the presence of baryonic matter deepened the cusp. The mass of $>10^6 M_{\odot}$ and a half-mass radius of $\sim 36$ pc of this galaxy were similar to those of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies rather than the satellites of the Milky Way. This DM halo grew in mass earlier than the former one, and the central DM density was higher than that of the other even in the DM-only simulations.

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arXiv2025

Bursty star formation, chemical enrichment, and star cluster formation in numerical analogues of GN-z11

The James Webb Space Telescope reveals anomalous nitrogen enrichment (high N/O ratios) in compact, star-forming galaxies, such as GN-z11 at $z\sim10$. The origin of this chemical signature provides an insight into the early star and galaxy formation processes, yet remains unclear. We performed high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of massive galaxies at high redshift ($z\sim10$) in rare density peaks, incorporating various chemical evolution channels including stellar winds, core-collapse, Type Ia supernovae, and asymptotic giant branch stars. Our simulations reproduce several key features of high-redshift galaxies: (1) stars form with high efficiencies ($>0.1$) at the center of rare peak halos, creating very compact galaxies similar to GN-z11; (2) high N/O ratios emerge during the first 10-20 Myr of intense starburst, before being diluted by CCSNe; (3) multiple star clusters form in and around the galaxy with high efficiency ($\sim20\%$), some of which exhibit high N/O ratios and sodium-oxygen anti-correlations similar to those observed in local globular clusters. Although our simulations can reproduce the high log(N/O) values (up to -0.61, exceeding the solar value by 0.25 dex), they remain below the observational lower limits of GN-z11, indicating room for improvement through additional chemical evolution channels, such as supermassive stars.

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arXiv2025

The First Star-by-star $N$-body/Hydrodynamics Simulation of Our Galaxy Coupling with a Surrogate Model

A major goal of computational astrophysics is to simulate the Milky Way Galaxy with sufficient resolution down to individual stars. However, the scaling fails due to some small-scale, short-timescale phenomena, such as supernova explosions. We have developed a novel integration scheme of $N$-body/hydrodynamics simulations working with machine learning. This approach bypasses the short timesteps caused by supernova explosions using a surrogate model, thereby improving scalability. With this method, we reached 300 billion particles using 148,900 nodes, equivalent to 7,147,200 CPU cores, breaking through the billion-particle barrier currently faced by state-of-the-art simulations. This resolution allows us to perform the first star-by-star galaxy simulation, which resolves individual stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The performance scales over $10^4$ CPU cores, an upper limit in the current state-of-the-art simulations using both A64FX and X86-64 processors and NVIDIA CUDA GPUs.

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arXiv2025

The $R$-Process Alliance: Enrichment of $r$-process Elements in a Simulated Milky Way-like Galaxy

We study the formation of stars with varying amounts of heavy elements synthesized by the rapid neutron-capture process ($r$-process) based on our detailed cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy with an $N$-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics code, ASURA. Most stars with no overabundance in $r$-process elements, as well as the strongly $r$-process enhanced $r$-II stars ([Eu/Fe] $>+0.7$), are formed in dwarf galaxies accreted by the Milky Way within the 6 Gyr after the Big Bang. In contrast, over half of the moderately enhanced $r$-I stars ($+0.3 <$ [Eu/Fe] $\leq +0.7$) are formed in the main in-situ disk after 6 Gyr. Our results suggest that the fraction of $r$-I and $r$-II stars formed in disrupted dwarf galaxies is larger the higher their [Eu/Fe] is. Accordingly, the most strongly enhanced $r$-III stars ([Eu/Fe] $> +2.0$) are formed in accreted components. These results suggest that non-$r$-process-enhanced stars and $r$-II stars are mainly formed in low-mass dwarf galaxies that hosted either none or a single neutron star merger, while the $r$-I stars tend to form in the well-mixed in-situ disk. We compare our findings with high-resolution spectroscopic observations of $r$-process-enhanced metal-poor stars in the halo and dwarf galaxies, including those collected by the R-Process Alliance. We conclude that observed [Eu/Fe] and [Eu/Mg] ratios can be employed in chemical tagging of the Milky Way's accretion history.

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arXiv2025

ASURA-FDPS-ML: Star-by-star Galaxy Simulations Accelerated by Surrogate Modeling for Supernova Feedback

We introduce new high-resolution galaxy simulations accelerated by a surrogate model that reduces the computation cost by approximately 75 percent. Massive stars with a Zero Age Main Sequence mass of more than about 10 $\mathrm{M_\odot}$ explode as core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), which play a critical role in galaxy formation. The energy released by CCSNe is essential for regulating star formation and driving feedback processes in the interstellar medium (ISM). However, the short integration timesteps required for SNe feedback have presented significant bottlenecks in astrophysical simulations across various scales. Overcoming this challenge is crucial for enabling star-by-star galaxy simulations, which aim to capture the dynamics of individual stars and the inhomogeneous shell's expansion within the turbulent ISM. To address this, our new framework combines direct numerical simulations and surrogate modeling, including machine learning and Gibbs sampling. The star formation history and the time evolution of outflow rates in the galaxy match those obtained from resolved direct numerical simulations. Our new approach achieves high-resolution fidelity while reducing computational costs, effectively bridging the physical scale gap and enabling multi-scale simulations.

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arXiv2025

SIRIUS: Identifying Metal-poor Stars Enriched by a Single Supernova in a Dwarf Galaxy Cosmological Zoom-in Simulation Resolving Individual Massive Stars

Metal-poor stars enriched by a single supernova (mono-enriched stars) are direct proof (and provide valuable probes) of supernova nucleosynthesis. Photometric and spectroscopic observations have shown that metal-poor stars have a wide variety of chemical compositions; the star's chemical composition reflects the nucleosynthesis process(es) that occurred before the star's formation. While the identification of mono-enriched stars enables us to study the ejecta properties of a single supernova, the fraction of mono-enriched stars among metal-poor stars remains unknown. Here we identify mono-enriched stars in a dwarf galaxy cosmological zoom-in simulation resolving individual massive stars. We find that the fraction of mono-enriched stars is higher for lower metallicity, stars with [Fe/H] $< -2.5$. The percentages of mono-enriched stars are 11% at [Fe/H] = $-$5.0 and 1% at [Fe/H] = $-$2.5, suggesting that most metal-poor stars are affected by multiple supernovae. We also find that mono-enriched stars tend to be located near the center of the simulated dwarf. Such regions will be explored in detail in upcoming surveys such as the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) on the Subaru telescope.

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arXiv2025

Formation of massive star clusters with and without iron abundance spreads in a dwarf galaxy merger

To study the formation of star clusters and their properties in a dwarf-dwarf merging galaxy, we have performed a numerical simulation of a dwarf-dwarf galaxy merger by using the Tree+GRAPE $N$-body/SPH code ASURA. In our simulation, 13 young star clusters are formed during the merger process. We show that our simulated star clusters can be divided into two types: with and without [Fe/H] abundance variations. The former is created by a seed star cluster (the first-generation stars) formed in compressed gas. These stars contaminate the surrounding gas by Type II supernovae (SNe). At that time, the energy injection is insufficient to induce an outflow of the surrounding gas. After that, the contaminated gas falls into the seed, thereby forming a new generation of stars from the contaminated gas. We also show that most star clusters are formed in the galactic central region after the second encounter and fall into the galactic center due to dynamical friction within several hundred Myr. As a result, close encounters and mergers between the clusters take place. Although the clusters with shallower gravitational potential are tidally disrupted by these close encounters, others survive and finally merge at the center of the merged dwarf galaxies to create a nuclear star cluster. Therefore, the nuclear star cluster is comprised of various stellar components in [Fe/H] abundance and age. We discuss our work in the context of observations and demonstrate the diagnostic power of high-resolution simulations in the context of star cluster formation.

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arXiv2024

Solar System Migration Points to a Renewed Concept: Galactic Habitable Orbits

Astrophysical evidence suggests that the Sun was born near 5 kpc from the Galactic center, within the corotation radius of the Galactic bar, around 6-7 kpc. This presents challenges for outward migration due to the Jacobi energy constraint, preventing stars from easily overcoming the corotation barrier. In this study, we use test particle simulations to explore two possible migration pathways for the Sun: a "trapped" scenario, where the Sun's orbit was influenced by a slowing Galactic bar, and an "untrapped" scenario driven by dynamic spiral arms. Our results demonstrate that both mechanisms can explain how the Sun migrated from its birth radius (approximately 5 kpc) to its current orbital radius around 8.5-9 kpc. Furthermore, we investigate the environmental changes experienced by the Sun along these migration pathways, focusing on variations in radiation hazards and comet fluxes, which may have impacted planetary habitability. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of galactic habitability, emphasizing that the path a star takes within the Milky Way can significantly affect its surrounding environment and the potential for life. We propose a new concept of "Galactic habitable orbits," which accounts for evolving galactic structures and their effects on stellar and planetary systems. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the solar system's migration and its implications for habitability within the Milky Way.

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arXiv2024

Modifications of SPH towards three-dimensional simulations of an icy moon with internal ocean

There are some traces of the existence of internal ocean in some icy moons, such as the vapor plumes of Europa and Enceladus. This implies a region of liquid water beneath the surface ice shell. Since liquid water would be essential for the origin of life, it is important to understand the development of these internal oceans, particularly their temperature distribution and evolution. The balance between tidal heating and radiative cooling is believed to sustain liquid water beneath an icy moon's surface. We aim to simulate the tidal heating of an internal ocean in an icy moon using 3-dimensional numerical fluid calculations with the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. We incorporated viscosity and thermal conduction terms into the governing equations of SPH. However, we encountered two issues while calculating rigid body rotation using SPH with a viscous term: (1) conventional viscosity formulations generated unphysical forces that hindered rotation, and (2) there was artificial internal energy partitioning within the layered structure, which was due to the standard SPH formulations. To address the first issue, we modified the viscosity formulation.For the second, we adopted Density Independent SPH (DISPH) developed in previous studies to improve behavior at discontinuous surfaces. Additionally, we implemented radiative cooling using an algorithm to define fluid surfaces via the particle method. We also introduced an equation of state accounting for phase transitions. With these modifications, we have refined the SPH method to encompass all necessary physical processes for simulating the evolution of icy moons with internal oceans.

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arXiv2024

Self-consistent $N$-body simulation of Planetesimal-Driven Migration I. The trajectories of single planets in the uniform background

Recent exoplanet observations have revealed a diversity of exoplanetary systems, which suggests the ubiquity of radial planetary migration. One powerful known mechanism of planetary migration is planetesimal-driven migration (PDM), which can let planets undergo significant migration through gravitational scattering with planetesimals. In this series of papers, we present the results of our high-resolution self-consistent $N$-body simulations of PDM, in which gravitational interactions among planetesimals, the gas drag, and Type-I migration are all taken into account. In this first paper (Paper I), we investigate the migration of a single planet through PDM within the framework of the classical standard disk model (the Minimum-Mass Solar Nebula model). Paper I aims to improve our understanding of planetary migration through PDM, addressing previously unexplored aspects of both the gravitational interactions among planetesimals and the interactions with disk gas. Our results show that even small protoplanets can actively migrate through PDM. Such active migration can act as a rapid radial diffusion mechanism for protoplanets and significantly influence the early stages of planetary formation (i.e., during the runaway growth phase). Moreover, a fair fraction of planets migrate outward. This outward migration may offer a potential solution for the ``planet migration problem" caused by Type-I migration and gives a natural mechanism for outward migration assumed in many recent scenarios for the formation of outer planets.

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arXiv2024

Simulations predict intermediate-mass black hole formation in globular clusters

Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are those between 100 and 10$^5$ solar masses ($M_{\odot}$); their formation process is debated. One possible origin is the growth of less massive black holes (BHs) via mergers with stars and compact objects within globular clusters (GCs). However, previous simulations have indicated that this process only produces IMBHs $<500 M_{\odot}$ because the gravitational wave recoil ejects them when they merge with other BHs. We perform star-by-star simulations of GC formation, finding that high-density star formation in a GC's parent giant molecular cloud can produce sufficient mergers of massive stars to overcome that mass threshold. We conclude that GCs can form with IMBHs $\gtrsim 10^3 M_{\odot}$, which is sufficiently massive to be retained within the GC even with the expected gravitational wave recoil.

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arXiv2024

Chemo-dynamical Evolution of Simulated Satellites for a Milky Way-like Galaxy

The chemical abundances of Milky Way's satellites reflect their star formation histories (SFHs), yet, due to the difficulty of determining the ages of old stars, the SFHs of most satellites are poorly measured. Ongoing and upcoming surveys will obtain around ten times more medium-resolution spectra for stars in satellites than are currently available. To correctly extract SFHs from large samples of chemical abundances, the relationship between chemical abundances and SFHs needs to be clarified. Here, we perform a high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy with detailed models of star formation, supernova feedback, and metal diffusion. We quantify SFHs, metallicity distribution functions, and the $α$-element (Mg, Ca, and Si) abundances in satellites of the host galaxy. We find that star formation in most simulated satellites is quenched before infalling to their host. Star formation episodes in simulated satellites are separated by a few hundred Myr owing to supernova feedback; each star formation event produces groups of stars with similar [$α$/Fe] and [Fe/H]. We then perform a mock observation of the upcoming Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) observations. We find that Subaru PFS will be able to detect distinct groups of stars in [$α$/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] space, produced by episodic star formation. This result means that episodic SFHs can be estimated from the chemical abundances of $\gtrsim$ 1,000 stars determined with medium-resolution spectroscopy.

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arXiv2024

Impulsive Gas Fueling to Galactic Center in a Barred Galaxy Due to Falls of Gas Clouds

We have studied the evolution of the central hundred pc region of barred galaxies by performing numerical simulations realizing multi-phase nature of gas. Our simulations have shown that a stellar bar produces an oval gas ring namely the $x$-2 ring within $1~{\rm kpc}$ as the bar grows. The ring is self-gravitationally unstable enough to trigger formations of gas clouds. Although the gas clouds initially rotate in the $x$-2 ring, cloud-cloud collisions and/or energy injections into the gas ring by Type II supernovae deviate some of the clouds from the ring orbit. After the deviation, the deviated clouds repeat collisions with the other clouds, which rotate in the $x$-2 ring, during several rotations. These processes effectively reduce the angular momentum of the deviated gas cloud. As a result, the gas cloud finally falls into the galactic center, and episodic gas supply to the galactic center takes place.

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arXiv2023

Surrogate Modeling for Computationally Expensive Simulations of Supernovae in High-Resolution Galaxy Simulations

Some stars are known to explode at the end of their lives, called supernovae (SNe). The substantial amount of matter and energy that SNe release provides significant feedback to star formation and gas dynamics in a galaxy. SNe release a substantial amount of matter and energy to the interstellar medium, resulting in significant feedback to star formation and gas dynamics in a galaxy. While such feedback has a crucial role in galaxy formation and evolution, in simulations of galaxy formation, it has only been implemented using simple {\it sub-grid models} instead of numerically solving the evolution of gas elements around SNe in detail due to a lack of resolution. We develop a method combining machine learning and Gibbs sampling to predict how a supernova (SN) affects the surrounding gas. The fidelity of our model in the thermal energy and momentum distribution outperforms the low-resolution SN simulations. Our method can replace the SN sub-grid models and help properly simulate un-resolved SN feedback in galaxy formation simulations. We find that employing our new approach reduces the necessary computational cost to $\sim$ 1 percent compared to directly resolving SN feedback.

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