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Published October 11, 2018 | Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

FIRE-2 Simulations: Physics versus Numerics in Galaxy Formation

Abstract

The Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project explores feedback in cosmological galaxy formation simulations. Previous FIRE simulations used an identical source code ("FIRE-1") for consistency. Motivated by the development of more accurate numerics – including hydrodynamic solvers, gravitational softening, and supernova coupling algorithms – and exploration of new physics (e.g. magnetic fields), we introduce "FIRE-2", an updated numerical implementation of FIRE physics for the GIZMO code. We run a suite of simulations and compare against FIRE-1: overall, FIRE-2 improvements do not qualitatively change galaxy-scale properties. We pursue an extensive study of numerics versus physics. Details of the star-formation algorithm, cooling physics, and chemistry have weak effects, provided that we include metal-line cooling and star formation occurs at higher-than-mean densities. We present new resolution criteria for high-resolution galaxy simulations. Most galaxy-scale properties are robust to numerics we test, provided: (1) Toomre masses are resolved; (2) feedback coupling ensures conservation, and (3) individual supernovae are time-resolved. Stellar masses and profiles are most robust to resolution, followed by metal abundances and morphologies, followed by properties of winds and circum-galactic media (CGM). Central (∼kpc) mass concentrations in massive (>L*) galaxies are sensitive to numerics (via trapping/recycling of winds in hot halos). Multiple feedback mechanisms play key roles: supernovae regulate stellar masses/winds; stellar mass-loss fuels late star formation; radiative feedback suppresses accretion onto dwarfs and instantaneous star formation in disks. We provide all initial conditions and numerical algorithms used.

Additional Information

© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices). Accepted 2018 June 24. Received 2018 June 1; in original form 2017 February 16. Published: 28 June 2018. We thank our editor and referee, Matthieu Schaller, for a number of helpful suggestions. Support for PFH and co-authors was provided by an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, NASA ATP Grant NNX14AH35G, and NSF Collaborative Research Grant #1715847 and CAREER grant #1455342. ARW was supported by a Caltech-Carnegie Fellowship, in part through the Moore Center for Theoretical Cosmology and Physics at Caltech. CAFG was supported by NSF through grants AST-1412836 and AST-1517491, and by NASA through grant NNX15AB22G. The Flatiron Institute is supported by the Simons Foundation. MBK and AF were partially supported by the NSF through grant AST-1517226. MBK also acknowledges support from NASA through HST theory grants (programs AR-12836, AR-13888, AR-13896, and AR-14282) awarded by STScI. DK was supported by NSF Grant AST1412153 and a Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. RF was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant No. 157591). Numerical calculations were run on the Caltech compute cluster "Wheeler," allocations TG-AST130039 & TG-AST150080 granted by the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) and PRAC NSF.1713353 supported by the NSF, and the NASA HEC Program through the NAS Division at Ames Research Center and the NCCS at Goddard Space Flight Center.

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Submitted - 1702.06148.pdf

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Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023