The Simba Simulation

Fri 3rd May, 2019 @15:15 PM, level 7, David Caro Building
Professor Romeel Davé, University of Edinburgh

Email:  rad@roe.ac.uk

Abstract

The growth of black holes and their role in quenching massive galaxies is a key unsolved problem in galaxy formation. I present a new suite of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations called Simba, which builds on our successful Mufasa simulations to include a novel torque-limited black hole accretion model and AGN feedback using observationally-constrained bipolar kinetic jets. I will describe the physical motivations behind our new model, explain why they represent an improvement over other current black hole growth and feedback models, and demonstrate that they yield a galaxy population in very good agreement with numerous observations across cosmic time. These successes set the stage for exploring galaxy–black hole co-evolution towards better understanding the impact of AGN feedback on the baryon cycle along the mass hierarchy.