Dark Matter Halo Structure in CDM Hydrodynamical Simulations

We have carried out a comparative analysis of the properties of dark matter halos in N-body and hydrodynamical simulations. We analyze their density profiles, shapes and kinematical properties with the aim of assessing the effects that hydrodynamical processes might produce on the evolution of the dark matter component. The simulations performed allow us to reproduce dark matter halos with high resolution, although the range of circular velocities is limited. We find that for halos with circular velocities of $[150-200] km s^{-1}$ at the virial radius, the presence of baryons affects the evolution of the dark matter component in the central region modifying the density profiles, shapes and velocity dispersions. We also analyze the rotation velocity curves of disk-like structures and compare them with observational results.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures (figures 3ab sent by request), 2 tables. Accepted for publication MNRA

Stellar feedback from HMXBs in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations

We explored the role of X-ray binaries composed by a black hole and a massive stellar companion (BHXs) as sources of kinetic feedback by using hydrodynamical cosmological simulations. Following previous results, our BHX model selects low metal-poor stars ($Z = [0,10^{-4}]$) as possible progenitors. The model that better reproduces observations assumes that a $\sim 20\%$ fraction of low-metallicity black holes are in binary systems which produce BHXs. These sources are estimated to deposit $\sim 10^{52}$ erg of kinetic energy per event. With these parameters and in the simulated volume, we find that the energy injected by BHXs represents $\sim 30\%$ of the total energy released by SNII and BHX events at redshift $z\sim7$ and then decreases rapidly as baryons get chemically enriched. Haloes with virial masses smaller than $\sim 10^{10} \,M_{\odot}$ (or $T_{\rm vir} \lesssim 10^5$ K) are the most directly affected ones by BHX feedback. These haloes host galaxies with stellar masses in the range $10^7 - 10^8$ M$_\odot$. Our results show that BHX feedback is able to keep the interstellar medium warm, without removing a significant gas fraction, in agreement with previous analytical calculations. Consequently, the stellar-to-dark matter mass ratio is better reproduced at high redshift. Our model also predicts a stronger evolution of the number of galaxies as a function of the stellar mass with redshift when BHX feedback is considered. These findings support previous claims that the BHXs could be an effective source of feedback in early stages of galaxy evolution.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Analysis of Galaxy Formation with Hydrodynamics

We present a hydrodynamical code based on the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics technique implemented in an AP3M code aimed at solving the hydrodynamical and gravitational equations in a cosmological frame. We analyze the ability of the code to reproduce standard tests and perform numerical simulations to study the formation of galaxies in a typical region of a CDM model. These numerical simulations include gas and dark matter particles and take into account physical processes such as shock waves, radiative cooling, and a simplified model of star formation. Several observed properties of normal galaxies such as $M_{gas}/M_{total}$ ratios, the luminosity function and the Tully-Fisher relation are analyzed within the limits imposed by numerical resolution.Comment: 21 pages, 2 postscript tables. Submitted MNRAS 04.03.9