scholarly journals Bayesian inferences of galaxy formation from the K-band luminosity and H i mass functions of galaxies: constraining star formation and feedback

2014 ◽  
Vol 443 (2) ◽  
pp. 1252-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Lu ◽  
H. J. Mo ◽  
Zhankui Lu ◽  
Neal Katz ◽  
Martin D. Weinberg
2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A135 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Girelli ◽  
L. Pozzetti ◽  
M. Bolzonella ◽  
C. Giocoli ◽  
F. Marulli ◽  
...  

Aims. Understanding the link between the galaxy properties and the dark matter halos they reside in and their coevolution is a powerful tool for constraining the processes related to galaxy formation. In particular, the stellar-to-halo mass relation (SHMR) and its evolution throughout the history of the Universe provides insights on galaxy formation models and allows us to assign galaxy masses to halos in N-body dark matter simulations. To address these questions, we determine the SHMR throughout the entire cosmic history from z ∼ 4 to the present. Methods. We used a statistical approach to link the observed galaxy stellar mass functions on the COSMOS field to dark matter halo mass functions up to z ∼ 4 from the ΛCDM DUSTGRAIN-pathfinder simulation, which is complete for Mh >  1012.5 M⊙, and extended this to lower masses with a theoretical parameterization. We propose an empirical model to describe the evolution of the SHMR as a function of redshift (either in the presence or absence of a scatter in stellar mass at fixed halo mass), and compare the results with several literature works and semianalytic models of galaxy formation. We also tested the reliability of our results by comparing them to observed galaxy stellar mass functions and to clustering measurements. Results. We derive the SHMR from z = 0 to z = 4, and model its empirical evolution with redshift. We find that M*/Mh is always lower than ∼0.05 and depends both on redshift and halo mass, with a bell shape that peaks at Mh ∼ 1012 M⊙. Assuming a constant cosmic baryon fraction, we calculate the star-formation efficiency of galaxies and find that it is generally low; its peak increases with cosmic time from ∼30% at z ∼ 4 to ∼35% at z ∼ 0. Moreover, the star formation efficiency increases for increasing redshifts at masses higher than the peak of the SHMR, while the trend is reversed for masses lower than the peak. This indicates that massive galaxies (i.e., galaxies hosted at halo masses higher than the SHMR peak) formed with a higher efficiency at higher redshifts (i.e., downsizing effect) and vice versa for low-mass halos. We find a large scatter in results from semianalytic models, with a difference of up to a factor ∼8 compared to our results, and an opposite evolutionary trend at high halo masses. By comparing our results with those in the literature, we find that while at z ∼ 0 all results agree well (within a factor of ∼3), at z >  0 many differences emerge. This suggests that observational and theoretical work still needs to be done. Our results agree well (within ∼10%) with observed stellar mass functions (out to z = 4) and observed clustering of massive galaxies (M* >  1011 M⊙ from z ∼ 0.5 to z ∼ 1.1) in the two-halo regime.


2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Girelli ◽  
Micol Bolzonella ◽  
Andrea Cimatti

Aims. Questions of how massive quiescent galaxies rapidly assembled and how abundant they are at high redshift are increasingly important in the study of galaxy formation. Looking at these systems can shed light on the processes of galaxy mass assembly and quenching of the star formation at early epochs. In order to address these questions, we aim to identify and characterize massive quiescent galaxies from z ∼ 2.5 out to the highest redshifts at which these systems can be found. The final purpose is to compare the results with the predictions of state-of-the-art semi-analytical models of galaxy formation and evolution. Methods. We defined observer-frame color–color diagrams to optimally select quiescent galaxies at z >  2.5 and applied them to the COSMOS2015 catalog. We refined the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting analysis for the selected candidates to confirm their quiescent nature, then derived their number density, mass density, and stellar mass functions. Finally, we compared the results with previous observations and some current semi-analytic models. Results. We selected candidates for quiescent galaxies in the redshift range 2.5 ≲ z ≲ 4.5 from the COSMOS2015 catalog by means of two color–color diagrams. The additional SED fitting analysis allowed us to select 128 galaxies, consistent with being massive (log(M*/M⊙)≥10.6), old (ages ≳0.5 Gyr), and quiescent (log(sSFR [yr−1]) ≤ −10.5) objects at high redshift (2.5 <  z <  4.5). Their number and mass densities are in fair agreement with previous observations and, if confirmed, show a discrepancy with current semi-analytical models of galaxy formation and evolution, that underpredict the number of massive quiescent systems up to a factor of ∼12 at 2.5 ≤ z <  3.0 and ∼10 at z ∼ 4.0. The evolution of the stellar mass functions (SMFs) of these systems is similar to previous estimates and indicates a disagreement with models, particularly with regard to the shape of the SMF. Conclusions. The present results add further evidence to the possibility that massive and quiescent galaxies can exist out to at least z ∼ 4. If future spectroscopic observations carried out with, for example, the James Webb Space Telecope (JWST), confirm the substantial presence of such a population, further work on modeling the stellar mass assembly, as well as supermassive black hole accretion and feedback processes at early cosmic epochs, is needed to understand how these systems formed, evolved, and quenched their star formation.


Author(s):  
Rachel S Somerville ◽  
Charlotte Olsen ◽  
L Y Aaron Yung ◽  
Camilla Pacifici ◽  
Henry C Ferguson ◽  
...  

Abstract We present mock catalogs created to support the interpretation of the CANDELS survey. We extract halos along past lightcones from the Bolshoi Planck dissipationless N-body simulations and populate these halos with galaxies using two different independently developed semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and the empirical model UniverseMachine. Our mock catalogs have geometries that encompass the footprints of observations associated with the five CANDELS fields. In order to allow field-to-field variance to be explored, we have created eight realizations of each field. In this paper, we present comparisons with observable global galaxy properties, including counts in observed frame bands, luminosity functions, color-magnitude distributions and color-color distributions. We additionally present comparisons with physical galaxy parameters derived from SED fitting for the CANDELS observations, such as stellar masses and star formation rates. We find relatively good agreement between the model predictions and CANDELS observations for luminosity and stellar mass functions. We find poorer agreement for colors and star formation rate distributions. All of the mock lightcones as well as curated “theory friendly” versions of the observational CANDELS catalogs are made available through a web-based data hub.


2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 1803-1822
Author(s):  
Seunghwan Lim ◽  
Douglas Scott ◽  
Arif Babul ◽  
David J Barnes ◽  
Scott T Kay ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT As progenitors of the most massive objects, protoclusters are key to tracing the evolution and star formation history of the Universe, and are responsible for ${\gtrsim }\, 20$ per cent of the cosmic star formation at $z\, {\gt }\, 2$. Using a combination of state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations and empirical models, we show that current galaxy formation models do not produce enough star formation in protoclusters to match observations. We find that the star formation rates (SFRs) predicted from the models are an order of magnitude lower than what is seen in observations, despite the relatively good agreement found for their mass-accretion histories, specifically that they lie on an evolutionary path to become Coma-like clusters at $z\, {\simeq }\, 0$. Using a well-studied protocluster core at $z\, {=}\, 4.3$ as a test case, we find that star formation efficiency of protocluster galaxies is higher than predicted by the models. We show that a large part of the discrepancy can be attributed to a dependence of SFR on the numerical resolution of the simulations, with a roughly factor of 3 drop in SFR when the spatial resolution decreases by a factor of 4. We also present predictions up to $z\, {\simeq }\, 7$. Compared to lower redshifts, we find that centrals (the most massive member galaxies) are more distinct from the other galaxies, while protocluster galaxies are less distinct from field galaxies. All these results suggest that, as a rare and extreme population at high z, protoclusters can help constrain galaxy formation models tuned to match the average population at $z\, {\simeq }\, 0$.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (2) ◽  
pp. 2648-2661
Author(s):  
Aaron A Dutton ◽  
Tobias Buck ◽  
Andrea V Macciò ◽  
Keri L Dixon ◽  
Marvin Blank ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the NIHAO project to investigate the response of cold dark matter (CDM) haloes to baryonic processes. Previous work has shown that the halo response is primarily a function of the ratio between galaxy stellar mass and total virial mass, and the density threshold above which gas is eligible to form stars, n[cm−3]. At low n all simulations in the literature agree that dwarf galaxy haloes are cuspy, but at high n ≳ 100 there is no consensus. We trace halo contraction in dwarf galaxies with n ≳ 100 reported in some previous simulations to insufficient spatial resolution. Provided the adopted star formation threshold is appropriate for the resolution of the simulation, we show that the halo response is remarkably stable for n ≳ 5, up to the highest star formation threshold that we test, n = 500. This free parameter can be calibrated using the observed clustering of young stars. Simulations with low thresholds n ≤ 1 predict clustering that is too weak, while simulations with high star formation thresholds n ≳ 5, are consistent with the observed clustering. Finally, we test the CDM predictions against the circular velocities of nearby dwarf galaxies. Low thresholds predict velocities that are too high, while simulations with n ∼ 10 provide a good match to the observations. We thus conclude that the CDM model provides a good description of the structure of galaxies on kpc scales provided the effects of baryons are properly captured.


2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 1755-1765
Author(s):  
Andrew Pontzen ◽  
Martin P Rey ◽  
Corentin Cadiou ◽  
Oscar Agertz ◽  
Romain Teyssier ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We introduce a new method to mitigate numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) simulations of cosmological galaxy formation, and study its impact on a simulated dwarf galaxy as part of the ‘EDGE’ project. The target galaxy has a maximum circular velocity of $21\, \mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}$ but evolves in a region that is moving at up to $90\, \mathrm{km}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}$ relative to the hydrodynamic grid. In the absence of any mitigation, diffusion softens the filaments feeding our galaxy. As a result, gas is unphysically held in the circumgalactic medium around the galaxy for $320\, \mathrm{Myr}$, delaying the onset of star formation until cooling and collapse eventually triggers an initial starburst at z = 9. Using genetic modification, we produce ‘velocity-zeroed’ initial conditions in which the grid-relative streaming is strongly suppressed; by design, the change does not significantly modify the large-scale structure or dark matter accretion history. The resulting simulation recovers a more physical, gradual onset of star formation starting at z = 17. While the final stellar masses are nearly consistent ($4.8 \times 10^6\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ and $4.4\times 10^6\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ for unmodified and velocity-zeroed, respectively), the dynamical and morphological structure of the z = 0 dwarf galaxies are markedly different due to the contrasting histories. Our approach to diffusion suppression is suitable for any AMR zoom cosmological galaxy formation simulations, and is especially recommended for those of small galaxies at high redshift.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3394-3412
Author(s):  
Steven R Furlanetto

ABSTRACT In recent years, simple models of galaxy formation have been shown to provide reasonably good matches to available data on high-redshift luminosity functions. However, these prescriptions are primarily phenomenological, with only crude connections to the physics of galaxy evolution. Here, we introduce a set of galaxy models that are based on a simple physical framework but incorporate more sophisticated models of feedback, star formation, and other processes. We apply these models to the high-redshift regime, showing that most of the generic predictions of the simplest models remain valid. In particular, the stellar mass–halo mass relation depends almost entirely on the physics of feedback (and is thus independent of the details of small-scale star formation) and the specific star formation rate is a simple multiple of the cosmological accretion rate. We also show that, in contrast, the galaxy’s gas mass is sensitive to the physics of star formation, although the inclusion of feedback-driven star formation laws significantly changes the naive expectations. While these models are far from detailed enough to describe every aspect of galaxy formation, they inform our understanding of galaxy formation by illustrating several generic aspects of that process, and they provide a physically grounded basis for extrapolating predictions to faint galaxies and high redshifts currently out of reach of observations. If observations show violations from these simple trends, they would indicate new physics occurring inside the earliest generations of galaxies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S356) ◽  
pp. 295-298
Author(s):  
Betelehem Bilata-Woldeyes ◽  
Mirjana Pović ◽  
Zeleke Beyoro-Amado ◽  
Tilahun Getachew-Woreta ◽  
Shimeles Terefe

AbstractStudying the morphology of a large sample of active galaxies at different wavelengths and comparing it with active galactic nuclei (AGN) properties, such as black hole mass (MBH) and Eddington ratio (λEdd), can help us in understanding better the connection between AGN and their host galaxies and the role of nuclear activity in galaxy formation and evolution. By using the BAT-SWIFT hard X-ray public data and by extracting those parameters measured for AGN and by using other public catalogues for parameters such as stellar mass (M*), star formation rate (SFR), bolometric luminosity (Lbol), etc., we studied the multiwavelength morphological properties of host galaxies of ultra-hard X-ray detected AGN and their correlation with other AGN properties. We found that ultra hard X-ray detected AGN can be hosted by all morphological types, but in larger fractions (42%) they seem to be hosted by spirals in optical, to be quiet in radio, and to have compact morphologies in X-rays. When comparing morphologies with other galaxy properties, we found that ultra hard X-ray detected AGN follow previously obtained relations. On the SFR vs. stellar mass diagram, we found that although the majority of sources are located below the main sequence (MS) of star formation (SF), still non-negligible number of sources, with diverse morphologies, is located on and/or above the MS, suggesting that AGN feedback might have more complex influence on the SF in galaxies than simply quenching it, as it was suggested in some of previous studies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 440 (4) ◽  
pp. 3262-3274 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Cooke ◽  
N. A. Hatch ◽  
S. I. Muldrew ◽  
E. E. Rigby ◽  
J. D. Kurk

2015 ◽  
Vol 453 (4) ◽  
pp. 4338-4368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel S. Somerville ◽  
Gergö Popping ◽  
Scott C. Trager

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