225 research outputs found
On the role of AGN feedback on the thermal and chemodynamical properties of the hot intra-cluster medium
We present an analysis of the properties of the ICM in an extended set of
cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters and groups performed
with the TreePM+SPH GADGET-3 code. Besides a set of non-radiative simulations,
we carried out two sets of simulations including radiative cooling, star
formation, metal enrichment and feedback from supernovae, one of which also
accounts for the effect of feedback from AGN resulting from gas accretion onto
super-massive black holes. These simulations are analysed with the aim of
studying the relative role played by SN and AGN feedback on the general
properties of the diffuse hot baryons in galaxy clusters and groups: scaling
relations, temperature, entropy and pressure radial profiles, and ICM chemical
enrichment. We find that simulations including AGN feedback produce scaling
relations that are in good agreement with X-ray observations at all mass
scales. However, our simulations are not able to account for the observed
diversity between CC and NCC clusters: unlike for observations, we find that
temperature and entropy profiles of relaxed and unrelaxed clusters are quite
similar and resemble more the observed behaviour of NCC clusters. As for the
pattern of metal enrichment, we find that an enhanced level of iron abundance
is produced by AGN feedback with respect to the case of purely SN feedback. As
a result, while simulations including AGN produce values of iron abundance in
groups in agreement with observations, they over-enrich the ICM in massive
clusters. The efficiency of AGN feedback in displacing enriched gas from halos
into the inter-galactic medium at high redshift also creates a widespread
enrichment in the outskirts of clusters and produces profiles of iron abundance
whose slope is in better agreement with observations.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRA
Cool Core Clusters from Cosmological Simulations
We present results obtained from a set of cosmological hydrodynamic
simulations of galaxy clusters, aimed at comparing predictions with
observational data on the diversity between cool-core (CC) and non-cool-core
(NCC) clusters. Our simulations include the effects of stellar and AGN feedback
and are based on an improved version of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics
code GADGET-3, which ameliorates gas mixing and better captures gas-dynamical
instabilities by including a suitable artificial thermal diffusion. In this
Letter, we focus our analysis on the entropy profiles, the primary diagnostic
we used to classify the degree of cool-coreness of clusters, and on the iron
profiles. In keeping with observations, our simulated clusters display a
variety of behaviors in entropy profiles: they range from steadily decreasing
profiles at small radii, characteristic of cool-core systems, to nearly flat
core isentropic profiles, characteristic of non-cool-core systems. Using
observational criteria to distinguish between the two classes of objects, we
find that they occur in similar proportions in both simulations and in
observations. Furthermore, we also find that simulated cool-core clusters have
profiles of iron abundance that are steeper than those of NCC clusters, which
is also in agreement with observational results. We show that the capability of
our simulations to generate a realistic cool-core structure in the cluster
population is due to AGN feedback and artificial thermal diffusion: their
combined action allows us to naturally distribute the energy extracted from
super-massive black holes and to compensate for the radiative losses of
low-entropy gas with short cooling time residing in the cluster core.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted in ApJL, v2 contains some modifications
on the text (results unchanged
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters: X-ray scaling relations and their evolution
We analyse cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters to
study the X-ray scaling relations between total masses and observable
quantities such as X-ray luminosity, gas mass, X-ray temperature, and .
Three sets of simulations are performed with an improved version of the
smoothed particle hydrodynamics GADGET-3 code. These consider the following:
non-radiative gas, star formation and stellar feedback, and the addition of
feedback by active galactic nuclei (AGN). We select clusters with , mimicking the typical selection of
Sunyaev-Zeldovich samples. This permits to have a mass range large enough to
enable robust fitting of the relations even at . The results of the
analysis show a general agreement with observations. The values of the slope of
the mass-gas mass and mass-temperature relations at are 10 per cent lower
with respect to due to the applied mass selection, in the former case,
and to the effect of early merger in the latter. We investigate the impact of
the slope variation on the study of the evolution of the normalization. We
conclude that cosmological studies through scaling relations should be limited
to the redshift range , where we find that the slope, the scatter, and
the covariance matrix of the relations are stable. The scaling between mass and
is confirmed to be the most robust relation, being almost independent of
the gas physics. At higher redshifts, the scaling relations are sensitive to
the inclusion of AGNs which influences low-mass systems. The detailed study of
these objects will be crucial to evaluate the AGN effect on the ICM.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables, replaced to match accepted versio
Evidence of major dry mergers at M* > 2 x 10^11 Msun from curvature in early-type galaxy scaling relations?
For early-type galaxies, the correlations between stellar mass and size,
velocity dispersion, surface brightness, color, axis ratio and color-gradient
all indicate that two mass scales, M* = 3 x 10^10 Msun and M* = 2 x 10^11 Msun,
are special. The smaller scale could mark the transition between wet and dry
mergers, or it could be related to the interplay between SN and AGN feedback,
although quantitative measures of this transition may be affected by
morphological contamination. At the more massive scale, mean axis ratios and
color gradients are maximal, and above it, the colors are redder, the sizes
larger and the velocity dispersions smaller than expected based on the scaling
at lower M*. In contrast, the color-sigma relation, and indeed, most scaling
relations with sigma, are not curved: they are well-described by a single power
law, or in some cases, are almost completely flat. When major dry mergers
change masses, sizes, axis ratios and color gradients, they are expected to
change the colors or velocity dispersions much less. Therefore, the fact that
scaling relations at sigma > 150 km/s show no features, whereas the size-M*,
b/a-M*, color-M* and color gradient-M* relations do, suggests that M* = 2 x
10^11 Msun is the scale above which major dry mergers dominate the assembly
histories of early-type galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
High prevalence of anti-hepatitis e virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, february to march 2014
Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection. © 2016, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Pressure of the hot gas in simulations of galaxy clusters
14siWe analyse the radial pressure profiles, the intracluster medium (ICM) clumping factor and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) scaling relations of a sample of simulated galaxy clusters and groups identified in a set of hydrodynamical simulations based on an updated version of the treepm-SPH GADGET-3 code. Three different sets of simulations are performed: the first assumes non-radiative physics, the others include, among other processes, active galactic nucleus (AGN) and/or stellar feedback. Our results are analysed as a function of redshift, ICM physics, cluster mass and cluster cool-coreness or dynamical state. In general, the mean pressure profiles obtained for our sample of groups and clusters show a good agreement with X-ray and SZ observations. Simulated cool-core (CC) and non-cool-core (NCC) clusters also show a good match with real data. We obtain in all cases a small (if any) redshift evolution of the pressure profiles of massive clusters, at least back to z = 1. We find that the clumpiness of gas density and pressure increases with the distance from the cluster centre and with the dynamical activity. The inclusion of AGN feedback in our simulations generates values for the gas clumping (√{C}_{ρ }˜ 1.2 at R200) in good agreement with recent observational estimates. The simulated YSZ-M scaling relations are in good accordance with several observed samples, especially for massive clusters. As for the scatter of these relations, we obtain a clear dependence on the cluster dynamical state, whereas this distinction is not so evident when looking at the subsamples of CC and NCC clusters.openopenPlanelles, S.; Fabjan, D.; Borgani, S.; Murante, G.; Rasia, E.; Biffi, V.; Truong, N.; Ragone-Figueroa, C.; Granato, G. L.; Dolag, K.; Pierpaoli, E.; Beck, A. M.; Steinborn, Lisa K.; Gaspari, M.Planelles, S.; Fabjan, D.; Borgani, Stefano; Murante, G.; Rasia, E.; Biffi, Veronica; Truong, N.; Ragone Figueroa, C.; Granato, G. L.; Dolag, K.; Pierpaoli, E.; Beck, A. M.; Steinborn, Lisa K.; Gaspari, M
Simulation-based marginal likelihood for cluster strong lensing cosmology
Comparisons between observed and predicted strong lensing properties of galaxy clusters have been routinely used to claim either tension or consistency with \u39b cold dark matter cosmology. However, standard approaches to such cosmological tests are unable to quantify the preference for one cosmology over another. We advocate approximating the relevant Bayes factor using a marginal likelihood that is based on the following summary statistic: the posterior probability distribution function for the parameters of the scaling relation between Einstein radii and cluster mass, \u3b1 and \u3b2. We demonstrate, for the first time, a method of estimating the marginal likelihood using the X-ray selected z > 0.5 Massive Cluster Survey clusters as a case in point and employing both N-body and hydrodynamic simulations of clusters. We investigate the uncertainty in this estimate and consequential ability to compare competing cosmologies, which arises from incomplete descriptions of baryonic processes, discrepancies in cluster selection criteria, redshift distribution and dynamical state. The relation between triaxial cluster masses at various overdensities provides a promising alternative to the strong lensing test
Modelling the shapes of the largest gravitationally bound objects
We combine the physics of the ellipsoidal collapse model with the excursion
set theory to study the shapes of dark matter halos. In particular, we develop
an analytic approximation to the nonlinear evolution that is more accurate than
the Zeldovich approximation; we introduce a planar representation of halo axis
ratios, which allows a concise and intuitive description of the dynamics of
collapsing regions and allows one to relate the final shape of a halo to its
initial shape; we provide simple physical explanations for some empirical
fitting formulae obtained from numerical studies. Comparison with simulations
is challenging, as there is no agreement about how to define a non-spherical
gravitationally bound object. Nevertheless, we find that our model matches the
conditional minor-to-intermediate axis ratio distribution rather well, although
it disagrees with the numerical results in reproducing the minor-to-major axis
ratio distribution. In particular, the mass dependence of the minor-to-major
axis distribution appears to be the opposite to what is found in many previous
numerical studies, where low-mass halos are preferentially more spherical than
high-mass halos. In our model, the high-mass halos are predicted to be more
spherical, consistent with results based on a more recent and elaborate halo
finding algorithm, and with observations of the mass dependence of the shapes
of early-type galaxies. We suggest that some of the disagreement with some
previous numerical studies may be alleviated if we consider only isolated
halos.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. New appendix added, extended discussion. Matches
version accepted by MNRA
Recommended from our members
On the importance of the convergence to climate attractors
Ensemble approaches are becoming widely used in climate research. In contrast to weather forecast, however, in the climatic context one is interested in long-time properties, those arising on the scale of several decades. The well-known strong internal variability of the climate system implies the existence of a related dynamical attractor with chaotic properties. Under the condition of climate change this should be a snapshot attractor, naturally arising in an ensemble-based framework. Although ensemble averages can be evaluated at any instant of time, results obtained during the process of convergence of the ensemble towards the attractor are not relevant from the point of view of climate. In simulations, therefore, attention should be paid to whether the convergence to the attractor has taken place. We point out that this convergence is of exponential character, therefore, in a finite amount of time after initialization relevant results can be obtained. The role of the time scale separation due to the presence of the deep ocean is discussed from the point of view of ensemble simulations
Neutral hydrogen in galaxy clusters: impact of AGN feedback and implications for intensity mapping
By means of zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations, we quantify the amount of neutral hydrogen (H i) hosted by groups and clusters of galaxies. Our simulations, which are based on an improved formulation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics, include radiative cooling, star formation, metal enrichment and supernova feedback, and can be split into two different groups, depending on whether feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is turned on or off. Simulations are analysed to account for H I self-shielding and the presence of molecular hydrogen. We find that the mass in neutral hydrogen of dark matter haloes monotonically increases with the halo mass and can be well described by a power law of the form MH I(M, Z) 1d M3/4. Our results point out that AGN feedback reduces both the total halo mass and its H i mass, although it is more efficient in removing H i. We conclude that AGN feedback reduces the neutral hydrogen mass of a given halo by ~50 per cent, with a weak dependence on halo mass and redshift. The spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen within haloes is also affected by AGN feedback, whose effect is to decrease the fraction of H i that resides in the halo inner regions. By extrapolating our results to haloes not resolved in our simulations, we derive astrophysical implications from the measurements of \u3a9H I(Z): haloes with circular velocities larger than ~25 km s-1 are needed to host H i in order to reproduce observations. We find that only the model with AGN feedback is capable of reproducing the value of \u3a9HIbHI derived from available 21 cm intensity mapping observations. \ua9 2016 The Authors
- …