Engineering topics

Wang, Kuan

Publications and source records attributed to Wang, Kuan.

5 records

DOE OSTI2024

Subhalos in Galaxy Clusters: Coherent Accretion and Internal Orbits

Subhalo dynamics in galaxy cluster host halos govern the observed distribution and properties of cluster member galaxies. We use the IllustrisTNG simulation to investigate the accretion and orbits of subhalos found in cluster-size halos. We find that the median change in the major axis direction of cluster-size host halos is approximately 80° between a ∼ 0.1 and the present day. We identify coherent regions in the angular distribution of subhalo accretion, and ∼68% of accreted subhalos enter their host halo through ∼38% of the surface area at the virial radius. The majority of galaxy clusters in the sample have ∼2 such coherent regions. We further measure angular orbits of subhalos with respect to the host major axis and use a clustering algorithm to identify distinct orbit modes with varying oscillation timescales. The orbit modes correlate with subhalo accretion conditions. Subhalos in orbit modes with shorter oscillations tend to have lower peak masses and accretion directions somewhat more aligned with the major axis. One orbit mode, exhibiting the least oscillatory behavior, largely consists of subhalos that accrete near the plane perpendicular to the host halo major axis. Our findings are consistent with expectations from inflow from major filament structures and internal dynamical friction: most subhalos accrete through coherent regions, and more massive subhalos experience fewer orbits after accretion. Our work offers a unique quantification of subhalo dynamics that can be connected to how the intracluster medium strips and quenches cluster galaxies.

galaxy clusters↗

DOE OSTI2023

The influence of subhaloes on host halo properties

Within the ΛCDM cosmology, dark matter haloes are composed of both a smooth component and a population of smaller gravitationally bound subhaloes. These components are often treated as a single halo when properties, such as density profiles, are extracted from simulations. Recent work has shown that density profiles change substantially when subhalo mass is excluded. In this paper, we expand on this result by analysing three specific host halo properties – concentration (cNFW), spin (λB), and shape (c/a) – when calculated only from the smooth component of the halo. This analysis is performed on both Milky Way-mass haloes and cluster-mass haloes in high-resolution zoom-in N-body simulations. We find that when subhaloes are excluded, the median value of (1) cNFW is enhanced by $\approx 30\pm 11$ and $\approx 77\pm 8.1~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ for Milky Way-mass ($10^{12.1}\, \text{M}_\odot$) and cluster-mass ($10^{14.8}\, \text{M}_\odot$) haloes, respectively, (2) λB is reduced for Milky Way-mass by $\approx 11\pm 4.9~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and cluster-mass haloes by $\approx 27\pm 3.5~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Additionally, with the removal of subhaloes, cluster-mass haloes tend to become more spherical as the ratio of minor-to-major axis, c/a, increases by $\approx 11\pm 3.6~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, whereas Milky Way-mass haloes remain approximately the same shape with c/a changed by $\approx 1.0\pm 5.8~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Fractional changes of each of these properties depend primarily on the amount of mass in subhaloes and, to a lesser extent, mass accretion history. Our findings demonstrate that the properties of the smooth components of dark matter haloes are biased relative to the total halo mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Evidence of galaxy assembly bias in SDSS DR7 galaxy samples from count statistics

We present observational constraints on the galaxy–halo connection, focusing particularly on galaxy assembly bias from a novel combination of counts-in-cylinders statistics, P(N CIC ), with the standard measurements of the projected two-point correlation function w p (r p ), and number density n gal of galaxies. We measure n gal , w p (r p ), and P(N CIC ) for volume-limited, luminosity-threshold samples of galaxies selected from SDSS DR7, and use them to constrain halo occupation distribution (HOD) models, including a model in which galaxy occupation depends upon a secondary halo property, namely halo concentration. We detect significant positive central assembly bias for the M r < -20.0 and M r <-19.5 samples. Central galaxies preferentially reside within haloes of high concentration at fixed mass. Positive central assembly bias is also favoured in the M r < -20.5 and M r < -19.0 samples. We find no evidence of central assembly bias in the M r < -21.0 sample. We observe only a marginal preference for negative satellite assembly bias in the M r < -20.0 and M r < -19.0 samples, and non-zero satellite assembly bias is not indicated in other samples. Our findings underscore the necessity of accounting for galaxy assembly bias when interpreting galaxy survey data, and demonstrate the potential of count statistics in extracting information from the spatial distribution of galaxies, which could be applied to both galaxy–halo connection studies and cosmological analyses.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Using Maximum Circular Velocity in Halo Occupation Distribution Models to Predict Galaxy Clustering

Abstract Standard halo occupation distribution (HOD) models predict how galaxies occupy halos based on a single property, the virial mass, M vir . To incorporate galaxy assembly bias, we consider alternative halo mass proxies to use in the HOD. A promising replacement is maximum circular velocity, V max , which measures the halo’s potential well, and successfully predicts galaxy clustering in subhalo abundance matching models. We fit galaxy clustering measurements from SDSS DR7 with two modified HODs besides the standard M vir -based model: one where V max is used as the halo property that determines galaxy occupation, and the other adopting an adjustable combination of M vir and V max . Except for the reduced volume M r < − 20 threshold sample fit with V max alone, neither change improves the model performance in predicting the projected two-point correlation function, w p . We conclude that switching the primary variable to V max does not significantly improve the HOD model’s ability to fit galaxy clustering.

Mezini, Lorena↗

DOE OSTI2020

Concentrations of dark haloes emerge from their merger histories

ABSTRACT The concentration parameter is a key characteristic of a dark matter halo that conveniently connects the halo’s present-day structure with its assembly history. Using ‘Dark Sky’, a suite of cosmological N-body simulations, we investigate how halo concentration evolves with time and emerges from the mass assembly history. We also explore the origin of the scatter in the relation between concentration and assembly history. We show that the evolution of halo concentration has two primary modes: (1) smooth increase due to pseudo-evolution; and (2) intense responses to physical merger events. Merger events induce lasting and substantial changes in halo structures, and we observe a universal response in the concentration parameter. We argue that merger events are a major contributor to the uncertainty in halo concentration at fixed halo mass and formation time. In fact, even haloes that are typically classified as having quiescent formation histories experience multiple minor mergers. These minor mergers drive small deviations from pseudo-evolution, which cause fluctuations in the concentration parameters and result in effectively irreducible scatter in the relation between concentration and assembly history. Hence, caution should be taken when using present-day halo concentration parameter as a proxy for the halo assembly history, especially if the recent merger history is unknown.

Wang, Kuan↗