Study on the potential and limitations of numerical simulations of galaxy formation, by developing a novel method for scanning their parameter space

• Applicant: Dr. Sadegh Khochfar
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2011 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 191458371

In this project we propose to develop a new hybrid approach for modeling galaxy formation using a combination of both hydrodynamical simulations (HYDs) and semi-analytical models (SAMs). The new approach is aimed to solve the long-lasting difficulty of HYDs to produce statistical samples of model galaxies, and to match the stellar mass function and star-formation rates of the observed galaxies. To this end, we are going to map each sub-grid physical ingredient used by HYDs into a SAM recipe, using various values for each free parameter used by HYDs. In a second stage, we will use the recipes found above within a SAM, in order to easily scan the parameter space, while producing large statistical samples of galaxies. This will allow us to fine-tune HYDs parameters, in order to have a best match to the observational data. As such tuning of parameter space of HYDs was not done to date, we will check if the failure of current simulations can be solved by fine-tuning the parameters. If this will not be possible, we will be able to detect possible missing physical ingredients, which could help in reproducing the observational data. Lastly, our hybrid approach will help to improve the level of modeling done by SAMs, and will allow a direct comparison between various existing HYDs and SAMs.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants