The Cosmic Baryon Cycle in IllustrisTNG: flows of mass, energy, and metals

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Main Authors: Oren, Yossi, Pandya, Viraj, Somerville, Rachel S., Genel, Shy, Omoruyi, Osase, Sternberg, Amiel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Oren, Yossi
Pandya, Viraj
Somerville, Rachel S.
Genel, Shy
Omoruyi, Osase
Sternberg, Amiel
author_facet Oren, Yossi
Pandya, Viraj
Somerville, Rachel S.
Genel, Shy
Omoruyi, Osase
Sternberg, Amiel
contents We measure and analyze the inflows and outflows of mass, energy, and metals through the interstellar medium (ISM) and circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies in the IllustrisTNG100 simulations. We identify the dominant feedback mechanism in bins of halo virial mass and redshift by computing the integrated energy input from SNe and the ``kinetic'' and ``thermal'' mode of AGN feedback. We measure all quantities in a shell at the virial radius (``halo scale'') and one chosen to be approximately at the interface of the CGM and the interstellar medium (ISM; ``ISM scale''). We find that galaxies have strong net positive inflows on halo scales, and weaker but still net positive inflows on ISM scales, at $z\gtrsim 2$. At later times, partially due to the onset of kinetic AGN feedback in massive halos, inflows and outflows nearly balance one another, leading to the familiar effects of the slow-down of galaxy growth and the onset of quenching. Halos dominated by SN feedback show only weak evidence of preventative feedback on halo scales, and we see excess ISM scale accretion indicative of rapid gas recycling. Wind mass loadings decrease with increasing halo mass, and with increasing redshift, while energy loadings are nearly independent of both mass and redshift. The detailed catalogs of these mass, metal, and energy inflow and outflow rates on galaxy and halo scales can be used to guide empirical and semi-analytic models, and provide deeper insight into how galaxy growth and quenching is regulated in the IllustrisTNG simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_23343
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Cosmic Baryon Cycle in IllustrisTNG: flows of mass, energy, and metals
Oren, Yossi
Pandya, Viraj
Somerville, Rachel S.
Genel, Shy
Omoruyi, Osase
Sternberg, Amiel
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We measure and analyze the inflows and outflows of mass, energy, and metals through the interstellar medium (ISM) and circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies in the IllustrisTNG100 simulations. We identify the dominant feedback mechanism in bins of halo virial mass and redshift by computing the integrated energy input from SNe and the ``kinetic'' and ``thermal'' mode of AGN feedback. We measure all quantities in a shell at the virial radius (``halo scale'') and one chosen to be approximately at the interface of the CGM and the interstellar medium (ISM; ``ISM scale''). We find that galaxies have strong net positive inflows on halo scales, and weaker but still net positive inflows on ISM scales, at $z\gtrsim 2$. At later times, partially due to the onset of kinetic AGN feedback in massive halos, inflows and outflows nearly balance one another, leading to the familiar effects of the slow-down of galaxy growth and the onset of quenching. Halos dominated by SN feedback show only weak evidence of preventative feedback on halo scales, and we see excess ISM scale accretion indicative of rapid gas recycling. Wind mass loadings decrease with increasing halo mass, and with increasing redshift, while energy loadings are nearly independent of both mass and redshift. The detailed catalogs of these mass, metal, and energy inflow and outflow rates on galaxy and halo scales can be used to guide empirical and semi-analytic models, and provide deeper insight into how galaxy growth and quenching is regulated in the IllustrisTNG simulations.
title The Cosmic Baryon Cycle in IllustrisTNG: flows of mass, energy, and metals
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.23343