@article{ThomasPfrommerPakmor2021, author = {Thomas, Timon and Pfrommer, Christoph and Pakmor, R{\"u}diger}, title = {A finite volume method for two-moment cosmic ray hydrodynamics on a moving mesh}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {503}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {2}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab397}, pages = {2242 -- 2264}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We present a new numerical algorithm to solve the recently derived equations of two-moment cosmic ray hydrodynamics (CRHD). The algorithm is implemented as a module in the moving mesh AREPO code. Therein, the anisotropic transport of cosmic rays (CRs) along magnetic field lines is discretized using a path-conservative finite volume method on the unstructured time-dependent Voronoi mesh of AREPO. The interaction of CRs and gyroresonant Alfven waves is described by short time-scale source terms in the CRHD equations. We employ a custom-made semi-implicit adaptive time stepping source term integrator to accurately integrate this interaction on the small light-crossing time of the anisotropic transport step. Both the transport and the source term integration step are separated from the evolution of the magnetohydrodynamical equations using an operator split approach. The new algorithm is tested with a variety of test problems, including shock tubes, a perpendicular magnetized discontinuity, the hydrodynamic response to a CR overpressure, CR acceleration of a warm cloud, and a CR blast wave, which demonstrate that the coupling between CR and magnetohydrodynamics is robust and accurate. We demonstrate the numerical convergence of the presented scheme using new linear and non-linear analytic solutions.}, language = {en} } @article{SparreWhittinghamDamleetal.2022, author = {Sparre, Martin and Whittingham, Joseph and Damle, Mitali and Hani, Maan H. and Richter, Philipp and Ellison, Sara L. and Pfrommer, Christoph and Vogelsberger, Mark}, title = {Gas flows in galaxy mergers}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {509}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {2}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1365-2966}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab3171}, pages = {2720 -- 2735}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In major galaxy mergers, the orbits of stars are violently perturbed, and gas is torqued to the centre, diluting the gas metallicity and igniting a starburst. In this paper, we study the gas dynamics in and around merging galaxies using a series of cosmological magnetohydrodynamical zoom-in simulations. We find that the gas bridge connecting the merging galaxies pre-coalescence is dominated by turbulent pressure, with turbulent Mach numbers peaking at values of 1.6-3.3. This implies that bridges are dominated by supersonic turbulence, and are thus ideal candidates for studying the impact of extreme environments on star formation. We also find that gas accreted from the circumgalactic medium (CGM) during the merger significantly contributes (27-51 percent) to the star formation rate (SFR) at the time of coalescence and drives the subsequent reignition of star formation in the merger remnant. Indeed, 19-53 percent of the SFR at z = 0 originates from gas belonging to the CGM prior the merger. Finally, we investigate the origin of the metallicity-diluted gas at the centre of merging galaxies. We show that this gas is rapidly accreted on to the Galactic Centre with a time-scale much shorter than that of normal star-forming galaxies. This explains why coalescing galaxies are not well-captured by the fundamental metallicity relation.}, language = {en} } @article{WerhahnPfrommerGirichidis2021, author = {Werhahn, Maria and Pfrommer, Christoph and Girichidis, Philipp}, title = {Cosmic rays and non-thermal emission in simulated galaxies - III. Probing cosmic-ray calorimetry with radio spectra and the FIR-radio correlation}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {508}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab2535}, pages = {4072 -- 4095}, year = {2021}, abstract = {An extinction-free estimator of the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies is critical for understanding the high-redshift universe. To this end, the nearly linear, tight correlation of far-infrared (FIR), and radio luminosity of star-forming galaxies is widely used. While the FIR is linked to massive star formation, which also generates shock-accelerated cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and radio synchrotron emission, a detailed understanding of the underlying physics is still lacking. Hence, we perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of isolated galaxies over a broad range of halo masses and SFRs using the moving-mesh code AREPO, and evolve the CR proton energy density self-consistently. In post-processing, we calculate the steady-state spectra of primary, shock-accelerated and secondary CR electrons, which result from hadronic CR proton interactions with the interstellar medium. The resulting total radio luminosities correlate with the FIR luminosities as observed and are dominated by primary CR electrons if we account for anisotropic CR diffusion. The increasing contribution of secondary emission up to 30 per cent in starbursts is compensated by the larger bremsstrahlung and Coulomb losses. CR electrons are in the calorimetric limit and lose most of their energy through inverse Compton interactions with star light and cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons while less energy is converted into synchrotron emission. This implies steep steady-state synchrotron spectra in starbursts. Interestingly, we find that thermal free-free emission flattens the total radio spectra at high radio frequencies and reconciles calorimetric theory with observations while free-free absorption explains the observed low-frequency flattening towards the central regions of starbursts.}, language = {en} } @article{WerhahnPfrommerGirichidisetal.2021, author = {Werhahn, Maria and Pfrommer, Christoph and Girichidis, Philipp and Puchwein, Ewald and Pakmor, R{\"u}diger}, title = {Cosmic rays and non-thermal emission in simulated galaxies}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {505}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab1324}, pages = {3273 -- 3294}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Current-day cosmic ray (CR) propagation studies use static Milky Way models and fit parametrized source distributions to data. Instead, we use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of isolated galaxies with the moving-mesh code arepo that self-consistently accounts for hydrodynamic effects of CR protons. In post-processing, we calculate their steady-state spectra, taking into account all relevant loss processes. We show that this steady-state assumption is well justified in the disc and generally for regions that emit non-thermal radio and gamma rays. Additionally, we model the spectra of primary electrons, accelerated by supernova remnants, and secondary electrons and positrons produced in hadronic CR proton interactions with the gas. We find that proton spectra above 10 GeV only weakly depend on galactic radius, while they acquire a radial dependence at lower energies due to Coulomb interactions. Radiative losses steepen the spectra of primary CR electrons in the central galactic regions, while diffusive losses dominate in the outskirts. Secondary electrons exhibit a steeper spectrum than primaries because they originate from the transported steeper CR proton spectra. Consistent with Voyager-1 and AMS-02 data, our models (i) show a turnover of proton spectra below GeV energies due to Coulomb interactions so that electrons start to dominate the total particle spectra and (ii) match the shape of the positron fraction up to 10 GeV. We conclude that our steady-state CR modelling in MHD CR galaxy simulations is sufficiently realistic to capture the dominant transport effects shaping their spectra, arguing for a full MHD treatment to accurately model CR transport in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{WhittinghamSparrePfrommeretal.2021, author = {Whittingham, Joseph and Sparre, Martin and Pfrommer, Christoph and Pakmor, R{\"u}diger}, title = {The impact of magnetic fields on cosmological galaxy mergers}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {506}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {1}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab1425}, pages = {229 -- 255}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Mergers play an important role in galaxy evolution. In particular, major mergers are able to have a transformative effect on galaxy morphology. In this paper, we investigate the role of magnetic fields in gas-rich major mergers. To this end, we run a series of high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) zoom-in simulations with the moving-mesh code arepo and compare the outcome with hydrodynamic simulations run from the same initial conditions. This is the first time that the effect of magnetic fields in major mergers has been investigated in a cosmologically consistent manner. In contrast to previous non-cosmological simulations, we find that the inclusion of magnetic fields has a substantial impact on the production of the merger remnant. Whilst magnetic fields do not strongly affect global properties, such as the star formation history, they are able to significantly influence structural properties. Indeed, MHD simulations consistently form remnants with extended discs and well-developed spiral structure, whilst hydrodynamic simulations form more compact remnants that display distinctive ring morphology. We support this work with a resolution study and show that whilst global properties are broadly converged across resolution and physics models, morphological differences only develop given sufficient resolution. We argue that this is due to the more efficient excitement of a small-scale dynamo in higher resolution simulations, resulting in a more strongly amplified field that is better able to influence gas dynamics.}, language = {en} } @article{SparrePfrommerEhlert2020, author = {Sparre, Martin and Pfrommer, Christoph and Ehlert, Kristian}, title = {Interaction of a cold cloud with a hot wind}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {499}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/staa3177}, pages = {4261 -- 4281}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Multiphase galaxy winds, the accretion of cold gas through galaxy haloes, and gas stripping from jellyfish galaxies are examples of interactions between cold and hot gaseous phases. There are two important regimes in such systems. A sufficiently small cold cloud is destroyed by the hot wind as a result of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which shatter the cloud into small pieces that eventually mix and dissolve in the hot wind. In contrast, stripped cold gas from a large cloud mixes with the hot wind to intermediate temperatures, and then becomes thermally unstable and cools, causing a net accretion of hot gas to the cold tail. Using the magneto-hydrodynamical code AREPO, we perform cloud crushing simulations and test analytical criteria for the transition between the growth and destruction regimes to clarify a current debate in the literature. We find that the hot-wind cooling time sets the transition radius and not the cooling time of the mixed phase. Magnetic fields modify the wind-cloud interaction. Draping of wind magnetic field enhances the field upstream of the cloud, and fluid instabilities are suppressed by a turbulently magnetized wind beyond what is seen for a wind with a uniform magnetic field. We furthermore predict jellyfish galaxies to have ordered magnetic fields aligned with their tails. We finally discuss how the results of idealized simulations can be used to provide input to subgrid models in cosmological (magneto-)hydrodynamical simulations, which cannot resolve the detailed small-scale structure of cold gas clouds in the circumgalactic medium.}, language = {en} } @article{SparrePfrommerVogelsberger2018, author = {Sparre, Martin and Pfrommer, Christoph and Vogelsberger, Mark}, title = {The physics of multiphase gas flows}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {482}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {4}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/sty3063}, pages = {5401 -- 5421}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Galactic winds exhibit a multiphase structure that consists of hot-diffuse and cold-dense phases. Here we present high-resolution idealized simulations of the interaction of a hot supersonic wind with a cold cloud with the moving-mesh code AREPO in setups with and without radiative cooling. We demonstrate that cooling causes clouds with sizes larger than the cooling length to fragment in 2D and 3D simulations. We confirm earlier 2D simulations by McCourt et al. (2018) and highlight differences of the shattering processes of 3D clouds that are exposed to a hot wind. The fragmentation process is quantified with a friends-of-friends analysis of shattered cloudlets and density power spectra. Those show that radiative cooling causes the power spectral index to gradually increase when the initial cloud radius is larger than the cooling length and with increasing time until the cloud is fully dissolved in the hot wind. A resolution of around 1 pc is required to reveal the effect of cooling-induced fragmentation of a 100 pc outflowing cloud. Thus, state-of-the-art cosmological zoom simulations of the circumgalactic medium fall short by orders of magnitudes from resolving this fragmentation process. This physics is, however, necessary to reliably model observed column densities and covering fractions of Lyman alpha haloes, high-velocity clouds, and broad-line regions of active galactic nuclei.}, language = {en} } @article{ThomasPfrommer2019, author = {Thomas, T. and Pfrommer, Christoph}, title = {Cosmic-ray hydrodynamics}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {485}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stz263}, pages = {2977 -- 3008}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Star formation in galaxies appears to be self-regulated by energetic feedback processes. Among the most promising agents of feedback are cosmic rays (CRs), the relativistic ion population of interstellar and intergalactic plasmas. In these environments, energetic CRs are virtually collisionless and interact via collective phenomena mediated by kinetic-scale plasma waves and large-scale magnetic fields. The enormous separation of kinetic and global astrophysical scales requires a hydrodynamic description. Here, we develop a new macroscopic theory for CR transport in the self-confinement picture, which includes CR diffusion and streaming. The interaction between CRs and electromagnetic fields of Alfvenic turbulence provides the main source of CR scattering, and causes CRs to stream along the magnetic field with the Alfven velocity if resonant waves are sufficiently energetic. However, numerical simulations struggle to capture this effect with current transport formalisms and adopt regularization schemes to ensure numerical stability. We extent the theory by deriving an equation for the CRmomentum density along the mean magnetic field and include a transport equation for the Alfven-wave energy. We account for energy exchange of CRs and Alfven waves via the gyroresonant instability and include other wave damping mechanisms. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that our new theory enables stable, self-regulated CR transport. The theory is coupled to magnetohydrodynamics, conserves the total energy and momentum, and correctly recovers previous macroscopic CR transport formalisms in the steady-state flux limit. Because it is free of tunable parameters, it holds the promise to provide predictable simulations of CR feedback in galaxy formation.}, language = {en} }