General
Entre las cuestiones fundamentales en Astronomía y Astrofísica están la formación y evolución de galaxias. Las escalas de tiempo y tamaño son tan astronómicas que su observación en galaxias individuales es imposible. Solo con el uso de simulaciones numéricas es posible entender la formación de estructuras cósmicas dentro del actual marco cosmológico.
Los principales procesos físicos que rigen la formación y evolución de galaxias son gravedad, hidrodinámica, gas cooling, formación estelar, evolución estelar, y SN y BH feedback, todos ellos no lineales y por ello difíciles de describir con modelos puramente analíticos. Otros modelos, los semi-analíticos, se basan en simulaciones de únicamente materia oscura y están, por tanto, sesgados al igual que éstas. Por todo esto, las simulaciones cosmológicas hidrodinámicas son la mejor herramienta para realizar los “experimentos controlados” de formación y evolución de galaxias.
Tras tres décadas de mejoras en las simulaciones numéricas, solo ahora los trabajos teóricos pueden reproducir simultáneamente las propiedades observadas de las galaxias y del medio interestelar (e.g. EAGLE, Schaye et al. 2015, MNRAS, 446, 521; ILLUSTRIS, Vogelsberger et al., 2014, Nature, 509, 177); en particular, las funciones de luminosidad y de masa de las galaxias, las relaciones entre tamaño y masa, entre metalicidad y masa, entre otras muchas propiedades están reproducidas en un amplio rango de masas de galaxias.
El grupo de astrofísica numérica trabaja en una variedad de temas científicos relacionados con la evolución de las galaxias y la estructura a gran escala del universo. La experiencia abarca desde la estructura interna de las galaxias enanas y de bajo brillo superficial, la Vía Láctea y sus galaxias satélite, el estudio de las galaxias en grupos y agrupaciones, hasta las grandes simulaciones cosmológicas de la estructura del universo. El grupo colabora con la mayoría de los grupos de investigación de IAC que trabajan en astrofísica extragaláctica y cosmología.
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Actividad científica
Publicaciones relacionadas
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Evaluating hydrodynamical simulations with green valley galaxiesWe test cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation regarding the properties of the blue cloud (BC), green valley (GV), and red sequence (RS), as measured on the 4000Å break strength versus stellar mass plane at z = 0.1. We analyse the RefL0100N1504 run of EAGLE and the TNG100 run of IllustrisTNG project, by comparing them with theAngthopo, J. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
42021 -
Self-interacting dark matter and the delay of supermassive black hole growthUsing cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with physically motivated models of supermassive black hole (SMBH) formation and growth, we compare the assembly of Milky Way-mass (M vir ≍ 7 × 10 11 M ☉ at z = 0) galaxies in cold dark matter (CDM) and self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) models. Our SIDM model adopts a constant cross-section of 1 cm 2 gCruz, A. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
12021 -
Stellar splashback: the edge of the intracluster lightWe examine the outskirts of galaxy clusters in the C-EAGLE simulations to quantify the 'edges' of the stellar and dark matter distribution. The radius of the steepest slope in the dark matter, commonly used as a proxy for the splashback radius, is located at $\sim \, r_{200 \rm m}$ ; the strength and location of this feature depends on the recentDeason, Alis J. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
12021 -
The discovery of the most UV-Ly α luminous star-forming galaxy: a young, dust- and metal-poor starburst with QSO-like luminositiesWe report the discovery of BOSS-EUVLG1 at z = 2.469, by far the most luminous, almost un-obscured star-forming galaxy known at any redshift. First classified as a QSO within the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, follow-up observations with the Gran Telescopio Canarias reveal that its large luminosity, M UV ≃ -24.40 and log(L Lyα/erg s -1) ≃Marques-Chaves, R. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
92020 -
The First Billion Years project: Finding infant globular clusters at z = 6Aims: We aim to conduct an assessment of the demographics of substructures in cosmological simulations to identify low-mass stellar systems at high redshift, with a particular focus on globular cluster (GC) candidates. Methods: We explored a suite of high-resolution cosmological simulations from the First Billion Years Project (FiBY) at z ≥ 6. AllPhipps, Frederika et al.
Fecha de publicación:
92020 -
NIHAO XXIV: rotation- or pressure-supported systems? Simulated Ultra Diffuse Galaxies show a broad distribution in their stellar kinematicsIn recent years, a new window on galaxy evolution opened, thanks to the increasing discovery of galaxies with a low-surface brightness, such as Ultra Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs). The formation mechanism of these systems is still a much debated question and so are their kinematical properties. In this work, we address this topic by analysing the stellarCardona-Barrero, Salvador et al.
Fecha de publicación:
72020 -
Constraining the inner density slope of massive galaxy clustersWe determine the inner density profiles of massive galaxy clusters (M 200 > 5 × 10 14 M ☉) in the Cluster-EAGLE (C-EAGLE) hydrodynamic simulations, and investigate whether the dark matter density profiles can be correctly estimated from a combination of mock stellar kinematical and gravitational lensing data. From fitting mock stellar kinematicsHe, Qiuhan et al.
Fecha de publicación:
62020 -
Explaining the chemical trajectories of accreted and in-situ halo stars of the Milky WayThe Milky Way underwent its last significant merger ten billion years ago, when the Gaia-Enceladus-Sausage (GES) was accreted. Accreted GES stars and progenitor stars born prior to the merger make up the bulk of the inner halo. Even though these two main populations of halo stars have similar durations of star formation prior to their merger, theyBrook, Chris B. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
42020 -
Kinematic analysis of eagle simulations: evolution of λ<SUB>Re</SUB> and its connection with mergers and gas accretionWe have developed a new tool to analyse galaxies in the eagle simulations as close as possible to observations. We investigated the evolution of their kinematic properties by means of the angular momentum proxy parameter, λ Re, for galaxies with M ⋆ ≥ 5 × 10 9 M ☉ in the RefL0100N1504 simulation up to redshift two (z = 2). Galaxies in theWalo-Martín, D. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
52020 -
The mass of our Galaxy from satellite proper motions in the Gaia eraWe use Gaia DR2 systemic proper motions of 45 satellite galaxies to constrain the mass of the Milky Way using the scale-free mass estimator of Watkins et al. (2010). We first determine the anisotropy parameter β, and the tracer satellites' radial density index γ to be β = $-0.67^{+0.45}_{-0.62}$ and γ = 2.11 ± 0.23. When we exclude possible formerFritz, T. K. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
42020 -
Sub one per cent mass fractions of young stars in red massive galaxiesEarly-type galaxies are considered to be the end products of massive galaxy formation 1. Optical spectroscopic studies reveal that massive early-type galaxies formed the bulk of their stars over short timescales (≲?1 Gyr) and at high redshift (z ≳? 2), followed by passive evolution to the present 2. However, their optical spectra are unable toSalvador-Rusiñol, Núria et al.
Fecha de publicación:
22020 -
The intracluster light as a tracer of the total matter density distribution: a view from simulationsBy using deep observations of clusters of galaxies, it has been recently found that the projected stellar mass density closely follows the projected total (dark and baryonic) mass density within the innermost ∼140 kpc. In this work, we aim to test these observations using the Cluster-EAGLE simulations, comparing the projected densities inferredAlonso Asensio, Isaac et al.
Fecha de publicación:
42020 -
Deep spectroscopy in nearby galaxy clusters - V. The Perseus clusterDwarfs are the largest population of galaxies in number in the nearby Universe. Deep spectroscopic data are still missing to obtain a better understanding of their formation and evolution processes. This study shows the results obtained from a spectroscopic campaign in the Perseus cluster. We have obtained 963 new galaxy spectra. We have measuredAguerri, J. A. L. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
32020 -
Signatures of the Galactic bar in high-order moments of proper motions measured by GaiaOur location in the Milky Way provides an exceptional opportunity to gain insight on the galactic evolution processes, and complement the information inferred from observations of external galaxies. Since the Milky Way is a barred galaxy, the study of motions of individual stars in the bulge and disc is useful to understand the role of the bar. ThePalicio, Pedro A. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
22020 -
One simulation to have them all: performance of the Bias Assignment Method against N-body simulationsIn this paper, we demonstrate that the information encoded in one single (sufficiently large) N-body simulation can be used to reproduce arbitrary numbers of halo catalogues, using approximated realizations of dark matter density fields with different initial conditions. To this end, we use as a reference one realization (from an ensemble of 300)Balaguera-Antolínez, A. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
12020 -
The Pristine survey - VI. The first three years of medium-resolution follow-up spectroscopy of Pristine EMP star candidatesWe present the results of a 3-yr long, medium-resolution spectroscopic campaign aimed at identifying very metal-poor stars from candidates selected with the CaHK, metallicity-sensitive Pristine survey. The catalogue consists of a total of 1007 stars, and includes 146 rediscoveries of metal-poor stars already presented in previous surveys, 707 newAguado, David S. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
122019 -
Machine learning in APOGEE. Identification of stellar populations through chemical abundancesContext. The vast volume of data generated by modern astronomical surveys offers test beds for the application of machine-learning. In these exploratory applications, it is important to evaluate potential existing tools and determine those that are optimal for extracting scientific knowledge from the available observations. Aims: We explore theGarcia-Dias, Rafael et al.
Fecha de publicación:
92019 -
Formation of ultra-diffuse galaxies in the field and in galaxy groupsWe study ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in zoom in cosmological simulations, seeking the origin of UDGs in the field versus galaxy groups. We find that while field UDGs arise from dwarfs in a characteristic mass range by multiple episodes of supernova feedback (Di Cintio et al.), group UDGs may also form by tidal puffing up and they become quiescentJiang, Fangzhou et al.
Fecha de publicación:
82019 -
Conditions for Reionizing the Universe with a Low Galaxy Ionizing Photon Escape FractionWe explore scenarios for reionizing the intergalactic medium with low galaxy ionizing photon escape fractions. We combine simulation-based halo mass–dependent escape fractions with an extrapolation of the observed galaxy rest-ultraviolet luminosity functions to solve for the reionization history from z = 20\to 4. We explore the posteriorFinkelstein, Steven L. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
72019 -
A distance of 13 Mpc resolves the claimed anomalies of the galaxy lacking dark matterThe claimed detection of a diffuse galaxy lacking dark matter represents a possible challenge to our understanding of the properties of these galaxies and galaxy formation in general. The galaxy, already identified in photographic plates taken in the summer of 1976 at the UK 48-in Schmidt telescope, presents normal distance-independent propertiesTrujillo, I. et al.
Fecha de publicación:
62019