Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

Cluster galaxies exhibit substantially lower star formation rates than field galaxies today, but it is conceivable that clusters were sites of more active star formation in the early universe. Herein, we present an interpretation of the star formation history (SFH) of group/cluster galaxies based on the large-scale cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, Horizon-AGN. We find that massive galaxies in general have small values of e-folding timescales of star formation decay (i.e., "mass quenching") regardless of their environment, while low-mass galaxies exhibit prominent environmental dependence. In massive host halos (i.e., clusters), the e-folding timescales of low-mass galaxies are further decreased if they reside in such halos for a longer period of time. This "environmental quenching" trend is consistent with the theoretical expectation from ram pressure stripping. Furthermore, we define a "transition epoch" as where cluster galaxies become less star-forming than field galaxies. The transition epoch of group/cluster galaxies varies according to their stellar and host-cluster halo masses. Low-mass galaxies in massive clusters show the earliest transition epoch of ∼7.6 Gyr ago in lookback time. However, this decreases to ∼5.2 Gyr for massive galaxies in low-mass clusters. Based on our findings, we can describe a cluster galaxy's SFH with regard to the cluster halo-to-stellar mass ratio.

Abstract:

Close encounters between two bodies in a disc often result in a single orbital deflection. However, within their Jacobi volumes, where the gravitational forces between the two bodies and the central body become competitive, temporary captures with multiple close encounters become possible outcomes: a Jacobi capture. We perform three-body simulations in order to characterize the dynamics of Jacobi captures in the plane. We find that the phase space structure resembles a Cantor-like set with a fractal dimension of about 0.4. The lifetime distribution decreases exponentially, while the distribution of the closest separation follows a power law with index 0.5. In our first application, we consider the Jacobi capture of the Moon. We demonstrate that both tidal captures and giant impacts are possible outcomes. The impact speed is well approximated by a parabolic encounter, while the impact angles follow that of a uniform beam on a circular target. Jacobi captures at larger heliocentric distances are more likely to result in tidal captures. In our second application, we find that Jacobi captures with gravitational wave dissipation can result in the formation of binary black holes in galactic nuclei. The eccentricity distribution is approximately superthermal and includes both prograde and retrograde orientations. We conclude that dissipative Jacobi captures form an efficient channel for binary formation, which motivates further research into establishing the universality of Jacobi captures across multiple astrophysical scales.