Cold Gas Subgrid Model (CGSM): A Two-Fluid Framework for Modeling Unresolved Cold Gas in Galaxy Simulations

Fuente: arXiv
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Butsky, Iryna S., Hummels, Cameron B., Hopkins, Philip F., Quinn, Thomas R., Werk, Jessica K.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1866917894193938432
author Butsky, Iryna S.
Hummels, Cameron B.
Hopkins, Philip F.
Quinn, Thomas R.
Werk, Jessica K.
author_facet Butsky, Iryna S.
Hummels, Cameron B.
Hopkins, Philip F.
Quinn, Thomas R.
Werk, Jessica K.
contents The cold ($\sim 10^{4}\,{\rm K}$) component of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) accounts for a significant fraction of all galactic baryons. However, using current galaxy-scale simulations to determine the origin and evolution of cold CGM gas poses a significant challenge, since it is computationally infeasible to directly simulate a galactic halo alongside the sub-pc scales that are crucial for understanding the interactions between cold CGM gas and the surrounding ''hot'' medium. In this work, we introduce a new approach: the Cold Gas Subgrid Model (CGSM), which models unresolved cold gas as a second fluid in addition to the standard ''normal'' gas fluid. The CGSM tracks the total mass density and bulk momentum of unresolved cold gas, deriving the properties of its unresolved cloudlets from the resolved gas phase. The interactions between the subgrid cold fluid and the resolved fluid are modeled by prescriptions from high-resolution simulations of ''cloud crushing'' and thermal instability. Through a series of idealized tests, we demonstrate the CGSM's ability to overcome the resolution limitations of traditional hydrodynamics simulations, successfully capturing the correct cold gas mass, its spatial distribution, and the timescales for cloud destruction and growth. We discuss the implications of using this model in cosmological simulations to more accurately represent the microphysics that govern the galactic baryon cycle.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_03419
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cold Gas Subgrid Model (CGSM): A Two-Fluid Framework for Modeling Unresolved Cold Gas in Galaxy Simulations
Butsky, Iryna S.
Hummels, Cameron B.
Hopkins, Philip F.
Quinn, Thomas R.
Werk, Jessica K.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The cold ($\sim 10^{4}\,{\rm K}$) component of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) accounts for a significant fraction of all galactic baryons. However, using current galaxy-scale simulations to determine the origin and evolution of cold CGM gas poses a significant challenge, since it is computationally infeasible to directly simulate a galactic halo alongside the sub-pc scales that are crucial for understanding the interactions between cold CGM gas and the surrounding ''hot'' medium. In this work, we introduce a new approach: the Cold Gas Subgrid Model (CGSM), which models unresolved cold gas as a second fluid in addition to the standard ''normal'' gas fluid. The CGSM tracks the total mass density and bulk momentum of unresolved cold gas, deriving the properties of its unresolved cloudlets from the resolved gas phase. The interactions between the subgrid cold fluid and the resolved fluid are modeled by prescriptions from high-resolution simulations of ''cloud crushing'' and thermal instability. Through a series of idealized tests, we demonstrate the CGSM's ability to overcome the resolution limitations of traditional hydrodynamics simulations, successfully capturing the correct cold gas mass, its spatial distribution, and the timescales for cloud destruction and growth. We discuss the implications of using this model in cosmological simulations to more accurately represent the microphysics that govern the galactic baryon cycle.
title Cold Gas Subgrid Model (CGSM): A Two-Fluid Framework for Modeling Unresolved Cold Gas in Galaxy Simulations
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.03419