Article

The FLAMINGO project: cosmological hydrodynamical simulations for large-scale structure and galaxy cluster surveys

Joop SchayeLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsRoi KugelLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsMatthieu SchallerLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsJohn HellyInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKJoey BraspenningLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsWillem ElbersInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKIan G. McCarthyAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , Liverpool L3 5RF , UKMarcel P. van DaalenLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsBert VandenbrouckeLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsCarlos S. FrenkInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKJuliana KwanAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , Liverpool L3 5RF , UKJaime SalcidoAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , Liverpool L3 5RF , UKYannick M BahéInstitute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Obervatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix , SwitzerlandJosh BorrowDepartment of Physics, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139 , USAEvgenii ChaikinLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the NetherlandsOliver HahnDepartment of Astrophysics, University of Vienna , Türkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna , AustriaFilip HuškoInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKAdrian JenkinsInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKC. G. LaceyInstitute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Durham , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE , UKFolkert S J NobelsLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden , the Netherlands

2023en

ABI

Abstract

ABSTRACT We introduce the Virgo Consortium’s FLAMINGO suite of hydrodynamical simulations for cosmology and galaxy cluster physics. To ensure the simulations are sufficiently realistic for studies of large-scale structure, the subgrid prescriptions for stellar and AGN feedback are calibrated to the observed low-redshift galaxy stellar mass function and cluster gas fractions. The calibration is performed using machine learning, separately for each of FLAMINGO’s three resolutions. This approach enables specification of the model by the observables to which they are calibrated. The calibration accounts for a number of potential observational biases and for random errors in the observed stellar masses. The two most demanding simulations have box sizes of 1.0 and 2.8 Gpc on a side and baryonic particle masses of 1 × 108 and $1\times 10^9\, \text{M}_\odot$, respectively. For the latter resolution, the suite includes 12 model variations in a 1 Gpc box. There are 8 variations at fixed cosmology, including shifts in the stellar mass function and/or the cluster gas fractions to which we calibrate, and two alternative implementations of AGN feedback (thermal or jets). The remaining 4 variations use the unmodified calibration data but different cosmologies, including different neutrino masses. The 2.8 Gpc simulation follows 3 × 1011 particles, making it the largest ever hydrodynamical simulation run to z = 0. Light-cone output is produced on-the-fly for up to 8 different observers. We investigate numerical convergence, show that the simulations reproduce the calibration data, and compare with a number of galaxy, cluster, and large-scale structure observations, finding very good agreement with the data for converged predictions. Finally, by comparing hydrodynamical and ‘dark-matter-only’ simulations, we confirm that baryonic effects can suppress the halo mass function and the matter power spectrum by up to ≈20 per cent.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad2419

Citations and references

Cited by 10 references

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