Assembly of supermassive black hole seeds

We present a suite of six fully cosmological, three-dimensional simulations of the collapse of an atomic cooling halo in the early Universe. We use the moving-mesh code arepo with an improved primordial chemistry network to evolve the hydrodynamical and chemical equations. The addition of a strong Lyman-Werner background suppresses molecular hydrogen cooling and permits the gas to evolve nearly isothermally at a temperature of about 8000 K. Strong gravitational torques effectively remove angular momentum and lead to the central collapse of gas, forming a supermassive protostar at the center of the halo. We model the protostar using two methods: sink particles that grow through mergers with other sink particles, and a stiff equation of state that leads to the formation of an adiabatic core. We impose threshold densities of $10^8$, $10^{10}$, and $10^{12}\,\text{cm}^{-3}$ for the sink particle formation and the onset of the stiff equation of state to study the late, intermediate, and early stages in the evolution of the protostar, respectively. We follow its growth from masses $\simeq 10\,\text{M}_\odot$ to $\simeq 10^5\,\text{M}_\odot$, with an average accretion rate of $\langle\dot{M}_\star\rangle \simeq 2\,\text{M}_\odot\,\text{yr}^{-1}$ for sink particles, and $\simeq 0.8 - 1.4\,\text{M}_\odot\,\text{yr}^{-1}$ for the adiabatic cores. At the end of the simulations, the HII region generated by radiation from the central object has long detached from the protostellar photosphere, but the ionizing radiation remains trapped in the inner host halo, and has thus not yet escaped into the intergalactic medium. Fully coupled, radiation-hydrodynamics simulations hold the key for further progress.Comment: Matches accepted version. A video of the simulations can be found at https://vimeo.com/26883591

The Epoch of Helium Reionization

We study the reionization of Helium II by quasars using a numerical approach that combines 3D radiative transfer calculations with cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Sources producing the ionizing radiation are selected according to an empirical quasar luminosity function and are assigned luminosities according to their intrinsic masses. We present models in which these parameters are varied and examine characteristics of the resultant reionization process that distinguish the various cases. In addition, we extract artificial spectra from the simulations and quantify statistical properties of the spectral features in each model. We find that the most important factor affecting the evolution of He II reionization is the cumulative number of ionizing photons that are produced by the sources. Comparisons between He II opacities measured observationally and those obtained by our analysis reveal that the available ranges in plausible values for the parameters provide enough leeway to provide a satisfactory match. However, one property common to all our calculations is that the epoch of Helium II reionization must have occurred at a redshift between 3 < z < 4. If so, future observational programs will be able to directly trace the details of the ionization history of helium and probe the low density phase of the intergalactic medium during this phase of the evolution of the Universe.Comment: 39 pages, including 13 figures, submitted to MNRA

Comparing Simulations and Observations of the Lyman-Alpha Forest I. Methodology

We describe techniques for comparing spectra extracted from cosmological simulations and observational data, using the same methodology to link Lyman-alpha properties derived from the simulations with properties derived from observational data. The eventual goal is to measure the coherence or clustering properties of Lyman-alpha absorbers using observations of quasar pairs and groups. We quantify the systematic underestimate in opacity that is inherent in the continuum fitting process of observed spectra over a range of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. We present an automated process for detecting and selecting absorption features over the range of resolution and signal-to-noise of typical observational data on the Lyman-alpha "forest". Using these techniques, we detect coherence over transverse scales out to 500 h^{-1}_{50} kpc in spectra extracted from a cosmological simulation at z = 2.Comment: 52 pages, includes 14 figures, to appear in ApJ v566 Feb 200

Powering Anomalous X-ray Pulsars by Neutron Star Cooling

Using recently calculated analytic models for the thermal structure of ultramagnetized neutron stars, we estimate the thermal fluxes from young ($t\sim 1000$ yr) ultramagnetized ($B \sim 10^{15}$ G) cooling neutron stars. We find that the pulsed X-ray emission from objects such as 1E 1841-045 and 1E 2259+586 as well as many soft-gamma repeaters can be explained by photon cooling if the neutron star possesses a thin insulating envelope of matter of low atomic weight at densities $\rho < 10^{7}-10^{8}$ g/cm$^3$. The total mass of this insulating layer is $M \sim 10^{-11}-10^{-8} M_\odot$.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Ap.J. Letters (one reference entry corrected, no other changes

The Effects of Varying Cosmological Parameters on Halo Substructure

We investigate how different cosmological parameters, such as those delivered by the WMAP and Planck missions, affect the nature and evolution of dark matter halo substructure. We use a series of flat $\Lambda$ cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmological $N$-body simulations of structure formation, each with a different power spectrum but the same initial white noise field. Our fiducial simulation is based on parameters from the WMAP 7th year cosmology. We then systematically vary the spectral index, $n_s$, matter density, $\Omega_M$, and normalization of the power spectrum, $\sigma_8$, for 7 unique simulations. Across these, we study variations in the subhalo mass function, mass fraction, maximum circular velocity function, spatial distribution, concentration, formation times, accretion times, and peak mass. We eliminate dependence of subhalo properties on host halo mass and average over many hosts to reduce variance. While the "same" subhalos from identical initial overdensity peaks in higher $\sigma_8, n_s$, and $\Omega_m$ simulations accrete earlier and end up less massive and closer to the halo center at $z=0$, the process of continuous subhalo accretion and destruction leads to a steady state distribution of these properties across all subhalos in a given host. This steady state mechanism eliminates cosmological dependence on all properties listed above except subhalo concentration and $V_{max}$, which remain greater for higher $\sigma_8, n_s$ and $\Omega_m$ simulations, and subhalo formation time, which remains earlier. We also find that the numerical technique for computing scale radius and the halo finder used can significantly affect the concentration-mass relationship computed for a simulation.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, Accepted to ApJ on March 15, 201

Models of Cuspy Triaxial Galaxies

We construct numerical models of mildly triaxial elliptical galaxies with central density cusps. Using a technique we call ``adiabatic squeezing'', we begin with a spherical gamma=1 Hernquist model and apply a drag to the velocities of the particles along each principle axis. The final models are stable in isolation, preserving their density structure and figure shape over many dynamical timescales. The density profile and axial ratios compare well to the observed properties of elliptical galaxies. The orbital structure of these models show a mixture of tubes, boxes, and boxlets, as expected for triaxial systems, with very few chaotic orbits. These N-body realizations of cuspy triaxial galaxies provide a basis for the study of the dynamical evolution of elliptical galaxies.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Accepted by Ap

Detecting the Rise and Fall of 21 cm Fluctuations with the Murchison Widefield Array

We forecast the sensitivity with which the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) can measure the 21 cm power spectrum of cosmic hydrogen, using radiative transfer simulations to model reionization and the 21 cm signal. The MWA is sensitive to roughly a decade in scale (wavenumbers of k ~ 0.1 - 1 h Mpc^{-1}), with foreground contamination precluding measurements on larger scales, and thermal detector noise limiting the small scale sensitivity. This amounts primarily to constraints on two numbers: the amplitude and slope of the 21 cm power spectrum on the scales probed. We find, however, that the redshift evolution in these quantities can yield important information about reionization. Although the power spectrum differs substantially across plausible models, a generic prediction is that the amplitude of the 21 cm power spectrum on MWA scales peaks near the epoch when the intergalactic medium (IGM) is ~ 50% ionized. Moreover, the slope of the 21 cm power spectrum on MWA scales flattens as the ionization fraction increases and the sizes of the HII regions grow. Considering detection sensitivity, we show that the optimal MWA antenna configuration for power spectrum measurements would pack all 500 antenna tiles as close as possible in a compact core. The MWA is sensitive enough in its optimal configuration to measure redshift evolution in the slope and amplitude of the 21 cm power spectrum. Detecting the characteristic redshift evolution of our models will confirm that observed 21 cm fluctuations originate from the IGM, and not from foregrounds, and provide an indirect constraint on the volume-filling factor of HII regions during reionization. After two years of observations under favorable conditions, the MWA can constrain the filling factor at an epoch when ~ 0.5 to within roughly +/- 0.1 at 2-sigma.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap

Cosmic Reionisation by Stellar Sources: Population II Stars

We study the reionisation of the Universe by stellar sources using a numerical approach that combines fast 3D radiative transfer calculations with high resolution hydrodynamical simulations. Ionising fluxes for the sources are derived from intrinsic star formation rates computed in the underlying hydrodynamical simulations. Our mass resolution limit for sources is M~ 4.0 x 10^7 h^-1 M_sol, which is roughly an order of magnitude smaller than in previous studies of this kind. Our calculations reveal that the reionisation process is sensitive to the inclusion of dim sources with masses below ~10^9 h^-1 M_sol. We present the results of our reionisation simulation assuming a range of escape fractions for ionising photons and make statistical comparisons with observational constraints on the neutral fraction of hydrogen at z~6 derived from the z=6.28 SDSS quasar of Becker and coworkers. Our best fitting model has an escape fraction of ~20% and causes reionisation to occur by z~8, although the IGM remains fairly opaque until z~6. In order to simultaneously match the observations from the z=6.28 SDSS quasar and the optical depth measurement from WMAP with the sources modeled here, we require an evolving escape fraction that rises from f_esc=0.20 near z~6 to f_esc>~10 at z~18.Comment: 42 pages, 13 figure

A Comparison of Cosmological Hydrodynamic Codes

We present a detailed comparison of the simulation results of various cosmological hydrodynamic codes. Starting with identical initial conditions based on the Cold Dark Matter scenario for the growth of structure, we integrate from redshift $z=20$ to $z=0$ to determine the physical state within a representative volume of size $L^3$ where $L=64 h^{-1} {\rm Mpc}$. Five independent codes are compared: three of them Eulerian mesh based and two variants of the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics "SPH" Lagrangian approach. The Eulerian codes were run at $N^3=(32^3,~64^3,~128^3,~{\rm and},~256^3)$ cells, the SPH codes at $N^3= 32^3$ and $64^3$ particles. Results were then rebinned to a $16^3$ grid with the expectation that the rebinned data should converge, by all techniques, to a common and correct result as $N \rightarrow \infty$. We find that global averages of various physical quantities do, as expected, tend to converge in the rebinned model, but that uncertainties in even primitive quantities such as $\langle T \rangle$, $\langle \rho^2\rangle^{1/2}$ persists at the 3\%-17\% level after completion of very large simulations. The two SPH codes and the two shock capturing Eulerian codes achieve comparable and satisfactory accuracy for comparable computer time in their treatment of the high density, high temperature regions as measured in the rebinned data; the variance among the five codes (at highest resolution) for the mean temperature (as weighted by $\rho^2$) is only 4.5\%. Overall the comparison allows us to better estimate errors, it points to ways of improving this current generation of hydrodynamic codes and of suiting their use to problems which exploit their individually best features.Comment: 20p plaintex to appear in The Astrophysical Journal on July 20, 199