Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?

Semianalytic models (SAMs) systematically predict higher-stellar mass scatter at a given halo mass than hydrodynamical simulations and most empirical models. Our goal is to investigate the physical origin of this scatter by exploring modifications to the physics in the SAM Dark Sage . We design two...

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Main Authors: Antonio J. Porras-Valverde, John C. Forbes, Rachel S. Somerville, Adam R. H. Stevens, Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, Andreas A. Berlind, Shy Genel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad7b0f
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author Antonio J. Porras-Valverde
John C. Forbes
Rachel S. Somerville
Adam R. H. Stevens
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann
Andreas A. Berlind
Shy Genel
author_facet Antonio J. Porras-Valverde
John C. Forbes
Rachel S. Somerville
Adam R. H. Stevens
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann
Andreas A. Berlind
Shy Genel
author_sort Antonio J. Porras-Valverde
collection DOAJ
description Semianalytic models (SAMs) systematically predict higher-stellar mass scatter at a given halo mass than hydrodynamical simulations and most empirical models. Our goal is to investigate the physical origin of this scatter by exploring modifications to the physics in the SAM Dark Sage . We design two black hole formation models that approximate results from the IllustrisTNG 300-1 hydrodynamical simulation. In the first model, we assign a fixed black hole mass of 10 ^6 M _⊙ to every halo that reaches 10 ^10.5 M _⊙ . In the second model, we disregard any black hole growth as implemented in the standard Dark Sage model. Instead, we force all black hole masses to follow the median z = 0 black hole mass–halo mass relation in IllustrisTNG 300-1 with an imposed fixed scatter. We find that each model on its own does not significantly reduce the scatter in stellar mass. To explore the effects of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in addition to black hole seeding, we replace the native Dark Sage AGN feedback model with a simple model where we turn off cooling for galaxies with black hole masses above 10 ^8 M _⊙ . With the additional modification in AGN feedback, we find that the supermassive black hole seeding and fixed conditional distribution models create a significant reduction in the scatter in stellar mass at halo masses between 10 ^11–14 M _⊙ . These results suggest that AGN feedback in SAMs acts in a qualitatively different way than feedback implemented in cosmological simulations. Either or both may require substantial modification to match the empirically inferred scatter in the stellar mass–halo mass relation.
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spelling doaj-art-7833ee7206924f04b98f0dcd4f29c71e2024-11-20T16:27:03ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01976114810.3847/1538-4357/ad7b0fWhy Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?Antonio J. Porras-Valverde0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1996-0445John C. Forbes1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1975-4449Rachel S. Somerville2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6748-6821Adam R. H. Stevens3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1908-2168Kelly Holley-Bockelmann4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2227-1322Andreas A. Berlind5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1814-2002Shy Genel6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3185-1540Department of Astronomy, Yale University , P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520, USA ; antonio.porras@yale.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University , 6301 Stevenson Science Center, Nashville, TN 37212, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA; School of Physical and Chemical Sciences–Te Kura Matū, University of Canterbury , Christchurch 8140, New ZealandCenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USAInternational Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, The University of Western Australia , 7 Fairway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University , 6301 Stevenson Science Center, Nashville, TN 37212, USA; Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Fisk University , 1000 17th Avenue N., Nashville, TN 37208, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University , 6301 Stevenson Science Center, Nashville, TN 37212, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USASemianalytic models (SAMs) systematically predict higher-stellar mass scatter at a given halo mass than hydrodynamical simulations and most empirical models. Our goal is to investigate the physical origin of this scatter by exploring modifications to the physics in the SAM Dark Sage . We design two black hole formation models that approximate results from the IllustrisTNG 300-1 hydrodynamical simulation. In the first model, we assign a fixed black hole mass of 10 ^6 M _⊙ to every halo that reaches 10 ^10.5 M _⊙ . In the second model, we disregard any black hole growth as implemented in the standard Dark Sage model. Instead, we force all black hole masses to follow the median z = 0 black hole mass–halo mass relation in IllustrisTNG 300-1 with an imposed fixed scatter. We find that each model on its own does not significantly reduce the scatter in stellar mass. To explore the effects of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in addition to black hole seeding, we replace the native Dark Sage AGN feedback model with a simple model where we turn off cooling for galaxies with black hole masses above 10 ^8 M _⊙ . With the additional modification in AGN feedback, we find that the supermassive black hole seeding and fixed conditional distribution models create a significant reduction in the scatter in stellar mass at halo masses between 10 ^11–14 M _⊙ . These results suggest that AGN feedback in SAMs acts in a qualitatively different way than feedback implemented in cosmological simulations. Either or both may require substantial modification to match the empirically inferred scatter in the stellar mass–halo mass relation.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad7b0fGalaxy formationGalaxy evolutionAstronomical simulationsHydrodynamical simulations
spellingShingle Antonio J. Porras-Valverde
John C. Forbes
Rachel S. Somerville
Adam R. H. Stevens
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann
Andreas A. Berlind
Shy Genel
Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxy formation
Galaxy evolution
Astronomical simulations
Hydrodynamical simulations
title Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
title_full Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
title_fullStr Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
title_full_unstemmed Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
title_short Why Do Semianalytic Models Predict Higher Scatter in the Stellar Mass–Halo Mass Relation Than Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations?
title_sort why do semianalytic models predict higher scatter in the stellar mass halo mass relation than cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
topic Galaxy formation
Galaxy evolution
Astronomical simulations
Hydrodynamical simulations
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad7b0f
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