The diverse star formation histories of early massive, quenched galaxies in modern galaxy formation simulations

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Main Authors: Lagos, Claudia del P., Valentino, Francesco, Wright, Ruby J., de Graaff, Anna, Glazebrook, Karl, De Lucia, Gabriella, Robotham, Aaron S. G., Nanayakkara, Themiya, Chandro-Gomez, Angel, Bravo, Matías, Baugh, Carlton M., Harborne, Katherine E., Hirschmann, Michaela, Fontanot, Fabio, Xie, Lizhi, Chittenden, Harry
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Lagos, Claudia del P.
Valentino, Francesco
Wright, Ruby J.
de Graaff, Anna
Glazebrook, Karl
De Lucia, Gabriella
Robotham, Aaron S. G.
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Chandro-Gomez, Angel
Bravo, Matías
Baugh, Carlton M.
Harborne, Katherine E.
Hirschmann, Michaela
Fontanot, Fabio
Xie, Lizhi
Chittenden, Harry
author_facet Lagos, Claudia del P.
Valentino, Francesco
Wright, Ruby J.
de Graaff, Anna
Glazebrook, Karl
De Lucia, Gabriella
Robotham, Aaron S. G.
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Chandro-Gomez, Angel
Bravo, Matías
Baugh, Carlton M.
Harborne, Katherine E.
Hirschmann, Michaela
Fontanot, Fabio
Xie, Lizhi
Chittenden, Harry
contents We present a comprehensive study of the star formation histories of massive-quenched galaxies at $z=3$ in 3 semi-analytic models (SHARK, GAEA, GALFORM) and 3 cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (EAGLE, IllustrisTNG, Simba). We study the predicted number density and stellar mass function of massive-quenched galaxies, their formation and quenching timescales and star-formation properties of their progenitors. Predictions are disparate in all these diagnostics, for instance: (i) some simulations reproduce the observed number density of very massive-quenched galaxies ($>10^{11}\rm M_{\odot}$) but underpredict the high density of intermediate-mass ones, while others fit well the lower masses but underpredict the higher ones; (ii) In most simulations, except for GAEA and EAGLE, most massive-quenched galaxies had starburst periods, with the most intense ones happening at $4<z<5$; however, only in SHARK and IllustrisTNG we do find a large number of progenitors with star formation rates $>300\rm M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}$; (iii) quenching timescales are in the range $\approx 20-150$~Myr depending on the simulation; among other differences. These disparate predictions can be tied to the adopted Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback model. For instance, the explicit black-hole (BH) mass dependence to trigger the "radio mode" in IllustrisTNG and Simba makes it difficult to produce quenched galaxies with intermediate stellar masses, also leading to higher baryon collapse efficiencies ($\approx 15-30$%); while the strong bolometric luminosity dependence of the AGN outflow rate in GAEA leads to BHs of modest mass quenching galaxies. Current observations are unable to distinguish between these different predictions due to the small sample sizes. However, these predictions are testable with current facilities and upcoming observations, allowing a "true physics experiment" to be carried out.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_16916
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The diverse star formation histories of early massive, quenched galaxies in modern galaxy formation simulations
Lagos, Claudia del P.
Valentino, Francesco
Wright, Ruby J.
de Graaff, Anna
Glazebrook, Karl
De Lucia, Gabriella
Robotham, Aaron S. G.
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Chandro-Gomez, Angel
Bravo, Matías
Baugh, Carlton M.
Harborne, Katherine E.
Hirschmann, Michaela
Fontanot, Fabio
Xie, Lizhi
Chittenden, Harry
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present a comprehensive study of the star formation histories of massive-quenched galaxies at $z=3$ in 3 semi-analytic models (SHARK, GAEA, GALFORM) and 3 cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (EAGLE, IllustrisTNG, Simba). We study the predicted number density and stellar mass function of massive-quenched galaxies, their formation and quenching timescales and star-formation properties of their progenitors. Predictions are disparate in all these diagnostics, for instance: (i) some simulations reproduce the observed number density of very massive-quenched galaxies ($>10^{11}\rm M_{\odot}$) but underpredict the high density of intermediate-mass ones, while others fit well the lower masses but underpredict the higher ones; (ii) In most simulations, except for GAEA and EAGLE, most massive-quenched galaxies had starburst periods, with the most intense ones happening at $4<z<5$; however, only in SHARK and IllustrisTNG we do find a large number of progenitors with star formation rates $>300\rm M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}$; (iii) quenching timescales are in the range $\approx 20-150$~Myr depending on the simulation; among other differences. These disparate predictions can be tied to the adopted Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback model. For instance, the explicit black-hole (BH) mass dependence to trigger the "radio mode" in IllustrisTNG and Simba makes it difficult to produce quenched galaxies with intermediate stellar masses, also leading to higher baryon collapse efficiencies ($\approx 15-30$%); while the strong bolometric luminosity dependence of the AGN outflow rate in GAEA leads to BHs of modest mass quenching galaxies. Current observations are unable to distinguish between these different predictions due to the small sample sizes. However, these predictions are testable with current facilities and upcoming observations, allowing a "true physics experiment" to be carried out.
title The diverse star formation histories of early massive, quenched galaxies in modern galaxy formation simulations
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.16916