Spatially resolved star formation and inside-out quenching in the TNG50 simulation and 3D-HST observations

Erica J Nelson, Sandro Tacchella, Benedikt Diemer, Joel Leja, Lars Hernquist, Katherine E Whitaker, Rainer Weinberger, Annalisa Pillepich, Dylan Nelson, Bryan A Terrazas, Rebecca Nevin, Gabriel B Brammer, Blakesley Burkhart, Rachel K Cochrane, Pieter Van Dokkum, Benjamin D Johnson, Federico Marinacci, Lamiya Mowla, Rüdiger Pakmor, Rosalind E SkeltonJoshua Speagle, Volker Springel, Paul Torrey, Mark Vogelsberger, Stijn Wuyts

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Abstract

We compare the star-forming main sequence (SFMS) of galaxies – both integrated and resolved on 1 kpc scales – between the high-resolution TNG50 simulation of IllustrisTNG and observations from the 3D-HST slitless spectroscopic survey at z ∼ 1. Contrasting integrated star formation rates (SFRs), we find that the slope and normalization of the star-forming main sequence in TNG50 are quantitatively consistent with values derived by fitting observations from 3D-HST with the Prospector Bayesian inference framework. The previous offsets of 0.2–1 dex between observed and simulated main-sequence normalizations are resolved when using the updated masses and SFRs from Prospector. The scatter is generically smaller in TNG50 than in 3D-HST for more massive galaxies with M*> 1010 M⊙, by ∼10–40 per cent, after accounting for observational uncertainties. When comparing resolved star formation, we also find good agreement between TNG50 and 3D-HST: average specific star formation rate (sSFR) radial profiles of galaxies at all masses and radii below, on, and above the SFMS are similar in both normalization and shape. Most noteworthy, massive galaxies with M*> 1010.5 M⊙, which have fallen below the SFMS due to ongoing quenching, exhibit a clear central SFR suppression, in both TNG50 and 3D-HST. In contrast, the original Illustris simulation and a variant TNG run without black hole kinetic wind feedback, do not reproduce the central SFR profile suppression seen in data. In TNG, inside-out quenching is due to the supermassive black hole (SMBH) feedback model operating at low accretion rates.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberstab2131
Pages (from-to)219-235
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume508
Issue number1
Early online date9 Aug 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021

Funding

The TNG50 simulation was realized with compute time granted by the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS) via the Large-Scale Project GCS-DWAR (2016; PIs Nelson/Pillepich); its lower resolution counterparts were carried out on the Draco and Hydra supercomputers at the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility (MPCDF); the original Illustris simulation was performed at the CURIE supercomputer at CEA/France as part of PRACE project RA0844 and at the SuperMUC computer at the Leibniz Computing Centre, Germany, as part of project pr85je. EJN acknowledges support of the National Hubble Fellowship Program through grant number HSTHF2-51416.001-A. ST is supported by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory through the CfA Fellowship. BB acknowledges support of the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute and is a Packard Fellow. FM acknowledges support through the Program ?Rita Levi Montalcini? of the Italian MUR. BAT was supported by the Harvard Future Faculty Leaders Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant No. 140. RKC acknowledges funding from the John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellowship. PT acknowledges support from NSF grants AST-1909933, AST-200849, and NASA ATP grant 80NSSC20K0502. We thank the reviewer, Avishai Dekel, for constructive comments which strengthened the manuscript.

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