ARCHITECTS I: Impact of subgrid physics on the simulated properties of the circumgalactic medium

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Auteurs principaux: Rey, Maxime, Blaizot, Jérémy, Kimm, Taysun, Rosdahl, Joakim, Michel-Dansac, Léo
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Rey, Maxime
Blaizot, Jérémy
Kimm, Taysun
Rosdahl, Joakim
Michel-Dansac, Léo
author_facet Rey, Maxime
Blaizot, Jérémy
Kimm, Taysun
Rosdahl, Joakim
Michel-Dansac, Léo
contents Galaxy evolution is shaped by star formation and stellar feedback at scales unresolved by current high-resolution cosmological simulations. Precise subgrid models are thus necessary, and different approaches have been developed. However, they are degenerate and often primarily calibrated to reproduce stellar masses from observations. To explore these degeneracies, we perform three cosmological zoom-in radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of the same galaxy within a $5\times10^{11}\rm\ M_\odot$ dark matter halo at $z\sim1$, each with a different subgrid model: mechanical feedback, a combination of mechanical feedback and thermal feedback, and delayed cooling. We calibrate the simulations to match in stellar mass, isolating the effect of the models on the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Our findings demonstrate that despite producing galaxies with comparable stellar masses, the three models lead to distinct feedback modes, resulting in notable variations in the CGM properties. The delayed cooling run is dominated by ejective feedback and exhibits high burstiness, whereas mechanical and the hybrid models primarily feature preventive feedback, respectively acting at the galaxy and halo scales. Delayed cooling reduces the baryon mass to half the universal baryon fraction while mechanical feedback retains most baryons, with the hybrid model standing in between. Delayed cooling also ejects significantly more metals into the CGM than both other models. While for delayed cooling and mechanical feedback metals are almost evenly distributed in the CGM, they are concentrated around satellites in the hybrid model. These discrepancies emphasize the need to design an appropriate subgrid model to understand how stellar feedback regulates galaxy growth.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_13392
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle ARCHITECTS I: Impact of subgrid physics on the simulated properties of the circumgalactic medium
Rey, Maxime
Blaizot, Jérémy
Kimm, Taysun
Rosdahl, Joakim
Michel-Dansac, Léo
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Galaxy evolution is shaped by star formation and stellar feedback at scales unresolved by current high-resolution cosmological simulations. Precise subgrid models are thus necessary, and different approaches have been developed. However, they are degenerate and often primarily calibrated to reproduce stellar masses from observations. To explore these degeneracies, we perform three cosmological zoom-in radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of the same galaxy within a $5\times10^{11}\rm\ M_\odot$ dark matter halo at $z\sim1$, each with a different subgrid model: mechanical feedback, a combination of mechanical feedback and thermal feedback, and delayed cooling. We calibrate the simulations to match in stellar mass, isolating the effect of the models on the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Our findings demonstrate that despite producing galaxies with comparable stellar masses, the three models lead to distinct feedback modes, resulting in notable variations in the CGM properties. The delayed cooling run is dominated by ejective feedback and exhibits high burstiness, whereas mechanical and the hybrid models primarily feature preventive feedback, respectively acting at the galaxy and halo scales. Delayed cooling reduces the baryon mass to half the universal baryon fraction while mechanical feedback retains most baryons, with the hybrid model standing in between. Delayed cooling also ejects significantly more metals into the CGM than both other models. While for delayed cooling and mechanical feedback metals are almost evenly distributed in the CGM, they are concentrated around satellites in the hybrid model. These discrepancies emphasize the need to design an appropriate subgrid model to understand how stellar feedback regulates galaxy growth.
title ARCHITECTS I: Impact of subgrid physics on the simulated properties of the circumgalactic medium
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.13392