Cited by 243Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaAstrophysics and Star Formation StudiesStellar, planetary, and galactic studies

The E-MOSAICS project: simulating the formation and co-evolution of galaxies and their star cluster populations

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Pfeffer, Joel, Kruijssen, J M Diederik, Crain, Robert A, Bastian, Nate·2018·Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Abstract

We introduce the MOdelling Star cluster population Assembly In Cosmological Simulations within EAGLE (E-MOSAICS) project. E-MOSAICS incorporates models describing the formation, evolution, and disruption of star clusters into the EAGLE galaxy formation simulations, enabling the examination of the co-evolution of star clusters and their host galaxies in a fully cosmological context. A fraction of the star formation rate of dense gas is assumed to yield a cluster population; this fraction and the population's initial properties are governed by the physical properties of the natal gas. The subsequent evolution and disruption of the entire cluster population are followed accounting for two-body relaxation, stellar evolution, and gravitational shocks induced by the local tidal field. This introductory paper presents a detailed description of the model and initial results from a suite of 10 simulations of ∼L⋆ galaxies with disc-like morphologies at z = 0. The simulations broadly reproduce key observed characteristics of young star clusters and globular clusters (GCs), without invoking separate formation mechanisms for each population. The simulated GCs are the surviving population of massive clusters formed at early epochs (z ≳ 1–2), when the characteristic pressures and surface densities of star-forming gas were significantly higher than observed in local galaxies. We examine the influence of the star formation and assembly histories of galaxies on their cluster populations, finding that (at similar present-day mass) earlier-forming galaxies foster a more massive and disruption-resilient cluster population, while galaxies with late mergers are capable of forming massive clusters even at late cosmic epochs. We find that the phenomenological treatment of interstellar gas in EAGLE precludes the accurate modelling of cluster disruption in low-density environments, but infer that simulations incorporating an explicitly modelled cold interstellar gas phase will overcome this shortcoming.

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  • E-MOSAICS simulations simultaneously reproduce young and old stellar cluster populations with a single, environmentally dependent cluster formation and disruption model, enabling linking the properties of the cluster population to the assembly history of the host galaxy.

    “Because these simulations simultaneously reproduce young and old stellar cluster populations with a single, environmentally dependent cluster formation and disruption model, they enable linking the properties of the cluster population to the assembly history of the host galaxy.”
  • Because E-MOSAICS overpredicts the number of GCs at masses much smaller than M~10^5 Msun due to underdisruption, the authors only consider GCs with z=0 masses of M>5x10^4 Msun.

    “Because E-MOSAICS overpredicts the number of GCs at masses much smaller than M 10 5 M due to underdisruption (Pfe er et al. 2018; Kruijssen et al. 2019a), we only consider GCs with z = 0 masses of M > 5 10 4 M .”

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Authors
Pfeffer, J., Kruijssen, J. M. D., Crain, R. A., & Bastian, N.
Affiliations
  • Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
  • Heidelberg University (DE)
Corresponding author
Pfeffer, Joel
Venue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2017-12-05
Volume
475
Issue
4
Pages
4309-4346
ISSN
  • 0035-8711 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2966
OpenAlex
W2773772132
Cited by
243
References
199
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 1
FWCI
13.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (publishedVersion)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (acceptedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • European Research Council (ERC-CoG-646928-Multi-Pop)
  • DFG (KR4801/1-1, PI Kruijssen)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Keywords
star cluster populations, globular clusters, star cluster disruption, galaxy co-evolution, EAGLE simulation, cosmological hydrodynamics, two-body relaxation, tidal field, stellar evolution, galaxy assembly history, star formation rate, disk galaxies

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