Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50
Many theoretical and observational studies have suggested that galaxy mergers may trigger enhanced star formation or active galactic nucleus activity. We present an analysis of merging and nonmerging galaxies from 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 3 in the IllustrisTNG50 simulation. These galaxies encompass a range of mass...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade791 |
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| author | Aimee L. Schechter Shy Genel Bryan Terrazas Julia M. Comerford Abigail Hartley Rachel S. Somerville Rebecca Nevin Joseph Simon Erica Nelson |
| author_facet | Aimee L. Schechter Shy Genel Bryan Terrazas Julia M. Comerford Abigail Hartley Rachel S. Somerville Rebecca Nevin Joseph Simon Erica Nelson |
| author_sort | Aimee L. Schechter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many theoretical and observational studies have suggested that galaxy mergers may trigger enhanced star formation or active galactic nucleus activity. We present an analysis of merging and nonmerging galaxies from 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 3 in the IllustrisTNG50 simulation. These galaxies encompass a range of masses ( M _⋆ > 10 ^8 M _⊙ ) and mass ratios (≥1:10) and multiple merger stages. We examine the effect that galaxy mergers have on star formation and black hole accretion rates in the TNG50 universe. We additionally investigate how galaxy and black hole mass, merger stage, merger mass ratio, and redshift affect these quantities. Mergers in our sample show excess specific star formation rates (sSFR) at z ≤ 3 and enhanced specific black hole accretion rates (sBHAR) at z ≲ 2. The difference between sSFRs and sBHARs in the merging sample compared to the nonmerging sample increases as redshift decreases. Additionally, we show that these enhancements persist for at least ∼1 Gyr after the merger event. Investigating how mergers behave in the TNG50 simulation throughout cosmic time enables both a better appreciation of the importance of spatial resolution in cosmological simulations and a better basis to understand our high- z Universe with observations from JWST. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6867b15d54fb4aa9b032b8a638ecc43b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-6867b15d54fb4aa9b032b8a638ecc43b2025-08-20T04:02:32ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989214910.3847/1538-4357/ade791Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50Aimee L. Schechter0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7120-2433Shy Genel1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3185-1540Bryan Terrazas2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5529-7305Julia M. Comerford3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8627-4907Abigail Hartley4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5891-1603Rachel S. Somerville5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6748-6821Rebecca Nevin6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1056-8401Joseph Simon7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1407-6607Erica Nelson8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7524-374XDepartment of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USA ; aimee.schechter@colorado.eduCenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA; Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Oberlin College , Oberlin, OH 44074, USADepartment of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USA ; aimee.schechter@colorado.eduDepartment of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USA ; aimee.schechter@colorado.edu; Department of Physics, Stanford University , 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USAFermi National Accelerator Laboratory , P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USADepartment of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USA ; aimee.schechter@colorado.eduDepartment of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USA ; aimee.schechter@colorado.eduMany theoretical and observational studies have suggested that galaxy mergers may trigger enhanced star formation or active galactic nucleus activity. We present an analysis of merging and nonmerging galaxies from 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 3 in the IllustrisTNG50 simulation. These galaxies encompass a range of masses ( M _⋆ > 10 ^8 M _⊙ ) and mass ratios (≥1:10) and multiple merger stages. We examine the effect that galaxy mergers have on star formation and black hole accretion rates in the TNG50 universe. We additionally investigate how galaxy and black hole mass, merger stage, merger mass ratio, and redshift affect these quantities. Mergers in our sample show excess specific star formation rates (sSFR) at z ≤ 3 and enhanced specific black hole accretion rates (sBHAR) at z ≲ 2. The difference between sSFRs and sBHARs in the merging sample compared to the nonmerging sample increases as redshift decreases. Additionally, we show that these enhancements persist for at least ∼1 Gyr after the merger event. Investigating how mergers behave in the TNG50 simulation throughout cosmic time enables both a better appreciation of the importance of spatial resolution in cosmological simulations and a better basis to understand our high- z Universe with observations from JWST.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade791AGN host galaxiesGalaxiesInteracting galaxiesMagnetohydrodynamical simulations |
| spellingShingle | Aimee L. Schechter Shy Genel Bryan Terrazas Julia M. Comerford Abigail Hartley Rachel S. Somerville Rebecca Nevin Joseph Simon Erica Nelson Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 The Astrophysical Journal AGN host galaxies Galaxies Interacting galaxies Magnetohydrodynamical simulations |
| title | Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 |
| title_full | Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 |
| title_short | Enhanced Star Formation and Black Hole Accretion Rates in Galaxy Mergers in IllustrisTNG50 |
| title_sort | enhanced star formation and black hole accretion rates in galaxy mergers in illustristng50 |
| topic | AGN host galaxies Galaxies Interacting galaxies Magnetohydrodynamical simulations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade791 |
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