The detectability of bars at high redshift: a case study using Euclid-like mock observations of TNG50 simulated galaxies

Abstract

Modern surveys such as Euclid report a decline in the fraction of barred galaxies from the local Universe to $z\sim 1$, whereas the TNG50 simulation predicts higher bar fractions, in tension with observations. This discrepancy may be due to observational biases in bar detectability when comparing simulations with observations. We present a proof-of-concept study quantifying how Euclid-like observational conditions affect bar detectability in TNG50. We analysed the entire galaxy sample at $z=0.5$ and highlight one borderline case with a bar length of 2.1 kpc and bar strength $A_2=0.4$. Synthetic images were produced with Monte Carlo radiative transfer and realistic post-processing, and analysed with ellipse fitting and Fourier decomposition, as well as the recently constructed Zoobot analysis. Results were compared to idealised, noise-free stellar mass maps. In the illustrative case the bar is clearly detected in the mass map and remains visible in the Euclid VIS $I_{\mathrm{E}}$ filter, where Zoobot also classifies it as barred, but becomes undetectable in $Y_{\mathrm{E}}$ and in the VIS-NISP RGB composite, with all methods failing outside VIS. Extending to the full $z=0.5$ sample, Zoobot recovers only 31/141 galaxies, while $A_2$ and ellipse fitting perform better (80/141 and 67/141) but still miss many short or weak bars. When non-detections are counted as unbarred, the bar fraction of 44 percent falls to $12-33$ percent depending on the method. These results demonstrate the strong impact of observational effects on bar detectability and motivate bar-fraction estimates which incorporate realistic instrumental conditions across redshift in cosmological simulations.

12 pages, 8 figures, revised version submitted to MNRAS