UniverseMachine: Predicting Galaxy Star Formation over Seven Decades of Halo Mass with Zoom-in Simulations

Abstract

We apply the empirical galaxy--halo connection model UniverseMachine to dark matter-only zoom-in simulations of isolated Milky Way (MW)--mass halos along with their parent cosmological simulations. This application extends \textsc{UniverseMachine} predictions into the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy regime ($10^2{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }⩽M_{\ast }⩽10^5{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$) and yields a well-resolved stellar mass--halo mass (SMHM) relation over the peak halo mass range $10^8{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ to $10^{15}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. The extensive dynamic range provided by the zoom-in simulations allows us to assess specific aspects of dwarf galaxy evolution predicted by \textsc{UniverseMachine}. In particular, although UniverseMachine is not constrained for dwarf galaxies with $M_{\ast }\lesssim 10^8{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, our predicted SMHM relation is consistent with that inferred for MW satellite galaxies at $z=0$ using abundance matching. However, UniverseMachine predicts that nearly all galaxies are actively star forming below $M_{\ast }\sim 10^7{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ and that these systems typically form more than half of their stars at $z\lesssim 4$, which is discrepant with the star formation histories of Local Group dwarf galaxies that favor early quenching. This indicates that the current UniverseMachine model does not fully capture galaxy quenching physics at the low-mass end. We highlight specific improvements necessary to incorporate environmental and reionization-driven quenching for dwarf galaxies, and provide a new tool to connect dark matter accretion to star formation over the full dynamic range that hosts galaxies.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in ApJ. 21 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Minor edits to v1. Added discussion of reionization contribution of ultra-faint dwarfs in sections 4.4 and 5

References in corpus (88)

• The cosmological simulation code GADGET-2
• Simulating the joint evolution of quasars, galaxies and their large-scale distribution
• Coevolution (Or Not) of Supermassive Black Holes and Host Galaxies
• Energy input from quasars regulates the growth and activity of black holes and their host galaxies
• Observational Evidence of AGN Feedback
• Dwarf Galaxies of the Local Group
• Modeling feedback from stars and black holes in galaxy mergers
• The Average Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Dark Matter Halos from z=0-8
• Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z=1.1 : The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies
• The observed properties of dwarf galaxies in and around the Local Group
• Galaxy Bimodality due to Cold Flows and Shock Heating
• Small-Scale Challenges to the $\Lambda$CDM Paradigm
• The Rockstar Phase-Space Temporal Halo Finder and the Velocity Offsets of Cluster Cores
• Galactic star formation and accretion histories from matching galaxies to dark matter haloes
• Physical Models of Galaxy Formation in a Cosmological Framework
• In the Beginning: The First Sources of Light and the Reionization of the Universe
• UniverseMachine: The Correlation between Galaxy Growth and Dark Matter Halo Assembly from z=0-10
• Concentrations of Dark Halos from their Assembly Histories
• The ages and metallicities of galaxies in the local universe
• Star Formation Histories, Abundances and Kinematics of Dwarf Galaxies in the Local Group
• Galaxy Luminosity Functions to z~1: DEEP2 vs. COMBO-17 and Implications for Red Galaxy Formation
• The Evolution of the Stellar Mass Functions of Star-Forming and Quiescent Galaxies to z = 4 from the COSMOS/UltraVISTA Survey
• MultiDark simulations: the story of dark matter halo concentrations and density profiles
• Reionization and the abundance of galactic satellites
• A Recipe for Galaxy Formation Shaun Cole
• Multi-scale initial conditions for cosmological simulations
• The Connection between Galaxies and their Dark Matter Halos
• Modeling Luminosity-Dependent Galaxy Clustering Through Cosmic Time
• Galaxy formation in the Planck Cosmology - I. Matching the observed evolution of star formation rates, colours and stellar masses
• Transients from Initial Conditions in Cosmological Simulations
• Gravitationally Consistent Halo Catalogs and Merger Trees for Precision Cosmology
• Eight New Milky Way Companions Discovered in First-Year Dark Energy Survey Data
• PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function From z=0-1
• Eight Ultra-faint Galaxy Candidates Discovered in Year Two of the Dark Energy Survey
• The Star Formation Histories of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies I. Hubble Space Telescope / Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Observations
• Improved Estimates of the Milky Way's Stellar Mass and Star Formation Rate from Hierarchical Bayesian Meta-Analysis
• Hydrodynamic Simulations of Galaxy Formation. II. Photoionization and the Formation of Low Mass Galaxies
• The Effects of Photoionization on Galaxy Formation - I: Model and Results at z=0
• Self-Regulated Growth of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies as the Origin of the Optical and X-ray Luminosity Functions of Quasars
• A Stellar Mass Threshold for Quenching of Field Galaxies
• EMERGE - An empirical model for the formation of galaxies since $z\sim 10$
• The Connection between Galaxies and Dark Matter Structures in the Local Universe
• A universal model for halo concentrations
• The Quenching of the Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies in the Reionization Era
• ELVIS: Exploring the Local Volume in Simulations
• Milky Way Satellite Census. III. Constraints on Dark Matter Properties from Observations of Milky Way Satellite Galaxies
• The SAGA Survey: I. Satellite Galaxy Populations Around Eight Milky Way Analogs
• The Galaxy-Halo Connection Over The Last 13.3 Gyrs
• Halo and Subhalo Demographics with Planck Cosmological Parameters: Bolshoi-Planck and MultiDark-Planck Simulations
• Mass and shape of the Milky Way's dark matter halo with globular clusters from Gaia and Hubble
• Quenching and ram pressure stripping of simulated Milky Way satellite galaxies
• Milky Way Satellite Census. II. Galaxy--Halo Connection Constraints Including the Impact of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The pseudo-evolution of halo mass
• The SAGA Survey. II. Building a Statistical Sample of Satellite Systems around Milky Way-like Galaxies
• The Star Formation Histories of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies II. Searching For Signatures of Reionization
• Milky Way Satellite Census. I. The Observational Selection Function for Milky Way Satellites in DES Y3 and Pan-STARRS DR1
• The upper bound on the lowest mass halo
• The influence of atomic diffusion on stellar ages and chemical tagging
• Evidence for an Intermediate-Mass Milky Way from Gaia DR2 Halo Globular Cluster Motions
• On the Last 10 Billion Years of Stellar Mass Growth in Star-Forming Galaxies
• The Universe at z>10: Predictions for JWST from the UniverseMachine DR1
• Organized Chaos: Scatter in the relation between stellar mass and halo mass in small galaxies
• Star formation histories of dwarf galaxies in the FIRE simulations: dependence on mass and Local Group environment
• Rapid Environmental Quenching of Satellite Dwarf Galaxies in the Local Group
• The diverse evolutionary paths of simulated high-z massive, compact galaxies to z=0
• The Star Formation Histories of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies III. Characterizing Quenching in Low-Mass Galaxies
• Can dry merging explain the size evolution of early-type galaxies?
• Under Pressure: Quenching Star Formation in Low-Mass Satellite Galaxies via Stripping
• The Dependence of Subhalo Abundance on Halo Concentration
• Star formation properties in the Local Volume galaxies via $H\alpha$ and FUV fluxes
• The Dark Halo - Spheroid Conspiracy and the Origin of Elliptical Galaxies
• Wide-Field Survey of Dwarf Satellite Systems Around 10 Hosts in the Local Volume
• SatGen: a semi-analytical satellite galaxy generator -- I. The model and its application to Local-Group satellite statistics
• The Local Group as a time machine: studying the high-redshift Universe with nearby galaxies
• Modeling the Connection Between Subhalos and Satellites in Milky Way-like Systems
• Constraints on the Ionizing Efficiency of the First Galaxies
• Dry mergers and the formation of early-type galaxies: constraints from lensing and dynamics
• In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies
• The Suppression of Star Formation on the Smallest Scales: What Role Does Environment Play?
• Quenching timescales of dwarf satellites around Milky Way-mass hosts
• L-GALAXIES 2020: The evolution of radial metallicity profiles and global metallicities in disc galaxies
• Luminosity Functions and Host-to-Host Scatter of Dwarf Satellite Systems in the Local Volume
• Local Group Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies in the Reionization Era
• Roll of the Dice: A Stochastically Sampled IMF Alters the Stellar Content of Simulated Dwarf Galaxies
• Radial Distributions of Dwarf Satellite Systems in the Local Volume
• The LBT Satellites of Nearby Galaxies Survey (LBT-SONG): The Satellite Population of NGC 628
• nIFTy Cosmology: the clustering consistency of galaxy formation models
• Reversal of Fortune: Increased Star Formation Efficiencies in the Early Histories of Dwarf Galaxies?

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Strong Dark Matter Self-interactions Diversify Halo Populations within and surrounding the Milky Way
• Symphony: Cosmological Zoom-in Simulation Suites over Four Decades of Host Halo Mass
• The assembly of dusty galaxies at $z\ge 4$: the build-up of stellar mass and its scaling relations with hints from early JWST data
• The SAGA Survey. III. A Census of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies
• GRUMPY: a simple framework for realistic forward-modelling of dwarf galaxies
• The SAGA Survey. IV. The Star Formation Properties of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies
• How cosmological merger histories shape the diversity of stellar haloes
• Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS): on the nature of ultra-diffuse galaxies in the Hydra-I cluster.I. Project description and preliminary results
• A Search for Satellite Galaxies of Nearby Star-Forming Galaxies with Resolved Stars in LBT-SONG
• Milky Way-est: Cosmological Zoom-in Simulations with Large Magellanic Cloud and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus Analogs
• EDGE: The emergence of dwarf galaxy scaling relations from cosmological radiation-hydrodynamics simulations
• The SAGA Survey. V. Modeling Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies with Updated UniverseMachine
• Supernova-driven turbulent metal mixing in high redshift galactic disks: metallicity fluctuations in the interstellar medium and its imprints on metal poor stars in the Milky Way
• Signatures of Light Massive Relics on nonlinear structure formation
• Constraints on the frequency and mass content of r-process events derived from turbulent mixing in galactic disks
• Response of the LMC's Bar to a Recent SMC Collision and Implications for the SMC's Dark Matter Profile
• EDEN: Exploring Disks Embedded in N-body simulations of Milky-Way-mass halos from Symphony
• Unraveling emission line galaxy conformity at z~1 with DESI early data
• Milky Way Satellite Census. IV. Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter from Observations of Milky Way Satellite Galaxies