Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Janulewicz, Patrick, Cui, Weiguang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00123
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911030259482624
author Janulewicz, Patrick
Cui, Weiguang
author_facet Janulewicz, Patrick
Cui, Weiguang
contents We introduce PyMGal, a Python package for generating optical mock observations of galaxies from hydrodynamical simulations. PyMGal reads the properties of stellar particles from these simulations and generates spectral energy distributions (SEDs) based on a variety of stellar population models that can be customised to fit the user's choice of applications. Given these SEDs, the program can calculate the brightness of particles in different output units for hundreds of unique filters. These quantities can then be projected to a 2D plane mimicking a telescope observation. The software is compatible with different snapshot formats and allows a flexible selection of models, filters, output units, axes of projection, angular resolutions, fields of view, and more. It also supports additional features including dust attenuation, particle smoothing, and the option to output spectral data cubes and maps of mass, age, and metallicity. These synthetic observations can be used to directly compare the simulated objects to reality in order to model galaxy evolution, study different theoretical models, and investigate different observational effects. This package allows the user to perform fast and consistent comparisons between simulation and observation, leading to a better and more precise understanding of what we see in our Universe.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_00123
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle PyMGal: A Python Package for Generating Optical Mock Observations from Hydrodynamical Simulations
Janulewicz, Patrick
Cui, Weiguang
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We introduce PyMGal, a Python package for generating optical mock observations of galaxies from hydrodynamical simulations. PyMGal reads the properties of stellar particles from these simulations and generates spectral energy distributions (SEDs) based on a variety of stellar population models that can be customised to fit the user's choice of applications. Given these SEDs, the program can calculate the brightness of particles in different output units for hundreds of unique filters. These quantities can then be projected to a 2D plane mimicking a telescope observation. The software is compatible with different snapshot formats and allows a flexible selection of models, filters, output units, axes of projection, angular resolutions, fields of view, and more. It also supports additional features including dust attenuation, particle smoothing, and the option to output spectral data cubes and maps of mass, age, and metallicity. These synthetic observations can be used to directly compare the simulated objects to reality in order to model galaxy evolution, study different theoretical models, and investigate different observational effects. This package allows the user to perform fast and consistent comparisons between simulation and observation, leading to a better and more precise understanding of what we see in our Universe.
title PyMGal: A Python Package for Generating Optical Mock Observations from Hydrodynamical Simulations
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00123