Stellar stripping efficiencies of satellites in numerical simulations: the effect of resolution, satellite properties and numerical disruption

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Martin, G., Pearce, F. R., Hatch, N. A., Contreras-Santos, A., Knebe, A., Cui, W.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Martin, G.
Pearce, F. R.
Hatch, N. A.
Contreras-Santos, A.
Knebe, A.
Cui, W.
author_facet Martin, G.
Pearce, F. R.
Hatch, N. A.
Contreras-Santos, A.
Knebe, A.
Cui, W.
contents The stellar stripping of satellites in cluster haloes is understood to play an important role in the production of intracluster light. Increasingly, cosmological simulations have been utilised to investigate its origin and assembly. However, such simulations typically model individual galaxies at relatively coarse resolutions, raising concerns about their accuracy. Although there is a growing literature on the importance of numerical resolution for the accurate recovery of the mass loss rates of dark matter (DM) haloes, there has been no comparable investigation into the numerical resolution required to accurately recover stellar mass loss rates in galaxy clusters. Using N-body simulations of satellite galaxies orbiting in a cluster halo represented by a static external potential, we conduct a set of convergence tests in order to explore the role of numerical resolution and force softening length on stellar stripping efficiency. We consider a number of orbital configurations, satellite masses and satellite morphologies. We find that stellar mass resolution is of minor importance relative to DM resolution. Resolving the central regions of satellite DM halos is critical to accurately recover stellar mass loss rates. Poorly resolved DM haloes develop cored inner profiles and, if this core is of comparable size to the stellar component of the satellite galaxy, this leads to significant over-stripping. To prevent this, relatively high DM mass resolutions of around $m_{\rm DM}\sim10^{6}$ M$_{\odot}$, better than those achieved by many contemporary cosmological simulations, are necessary.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_19292
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stellar stripping efficiencies of satellites in numerical simulations: the effect of resolution, satellite properties and numerical disruption
Martin, G.
Pearce, F. R.
Hatch, N. A.
Contreras-Santos, A.
Knebe, A.
Cui, W.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
The stellar stripping of satellites in cluster haloes is understood to play an important role in the production of intracluster light. Increasingly, cosmological simulations have been utilised to investigate its origin and assembly. However, such simulations typically model individual galaxies at relatively coarse resolutions, raising concerns about their accuracy. Although there is a growing literature on the importance of numerical resolution for the accurate recovery of the mass loss rates of dark matter (DM) haloes, there has been no comparable investigation into the numerical resolution required to accurately recover stellar mass loss rates in galaxy clusters. Using N-body simulations of satellite galaxies orbiting in a cluster halo represented by a static external potential, we conduct a set of convergence tests in order to explore the role of numerical resolution and force softening length on stellar stripping efficiency. We consider a number of orbital configurations, satellite masses and satellite morphologies. We find that stellar mass resolution is of minor importance relative to DM resolution. Resolving the central regions of satellite DM halos is critical to accurately recover stellar mass loss rates. Poorly resolved DM haloes develop cored inner profiles and, if this core is of comparable size to the stellar component of the satellite galaxy, this leads to significant over-stripping. To prevent this, relatively high DM mass resolutions of around $m_{\rm DM}\sim10^{6}$ M$_{\odot}$, better than those achieved by many contemporary cosmological simulations, are necessary.
title Stellar stripping efficiencies of satellites in numerical simulations: the effect of resolution, satellite properties and numerical disruption
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.19292