The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5
We introduce a new set of large-scale, high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium: the Sherwood simulation suite. These are performed in volumes of 103–1603h−3 comoving Mpc3, span almost four orders of magnitude in mass resolution with up to 17.2 billion particles, and em...
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37042/ |
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| author | Bolton, James S. Puchwein, Ewald Sijacki, Debora Haehnelt, Martin G. Kim, Tae-Sun Meiksin, Avery Regan, John A. Viel, Matteo |
| author_facet | Bolton, James S. Puchwein, Ewald Sijacki, Debora Haehnelt, Martin G. Kim, Tae-Sun Meiksin, Avery Regan, John A. Viel, Matteo |
| author_sort | Bolton, James S. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We introduce a new set of large-scale, high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium: the Sherwood simulation suite. These are performed in volumes of 103–1603h−3 comoving Mpc3, span almost four orders of magnitude in mass resolution with up to 17.2 billion particles, and employ a variety of physics variations including warm dark matter and galactic outflows. We undertake a detailed comparison of the simulations to high-resolution, high signal-to-noise observations of the Ly α forest over the redshift range 2 ≤ z ≤ 5. The simulations are in very good agreement with the observational data, lending further support to the paradigm that the Ly α forest is a natural consequence of the web-like distribution of matter arising in Λcold dark matter cosmological models. Only a small number of minor discrepancies remain with respect to the observational data. Saturated Ly α absorption lines with column densities NHI>1014.5cm−2 at 2 < z < 2.5 are underpredicted in the models. An uncertain correction for continuum placement bias is required to match the distribution and power spectrum of the transmitted flux, particularly at z > 4. Finally, the temperature of intergalactic gas in the simulations may be slightly too low at z = 2.7 and a flatter temperature–density relation is required at z = 2.4, consistent with the expected effects of non-equilibrium ionization during He ii reionization. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:31:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-37042 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:31:10Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-370422020-05-04T18:22:49Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37042/ The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 Bolton, James S. Puchwein, Ewald Sijacki, Debora Haehnelt, Martin G. Kim, Tae-Sun Meiksin, Avery Regan, John A. Viel, Matteo We introduce a new set of large-scale, high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium: the Sherwood simulation suite. These are performed in volumes of 103–1603h−3 comoving Mpc3, span almost four orders of magnitude in mass resolution with up to 17.2 billion particles, and employ a variety of physics variations including warm dark matter and galactic outflows. We undertake a detailed comparison of the simulations to high-resolution, high signal-to-noise observations of the Ly α forest over the redshift range 2 ≤ z ≤ 5. The simulations are in very good agreement with the observational data, lending further support to the paradigm that the Ly α forest is a natural consequence of the web-like distribution of matter arising in Λcold dark matter cosmological models. Only a small number of minor discrepancies remain with respect to the observational data. Saturated Ly α absorption lines with column densities NHI>1014.5cm−2 at 2 < z < 2.5 are underpredicted in the models. An uncertain correction for continuum placement bias is required to match the distribution and power spectrum of the transmitted flux, particularly at z > 4. Finally, the temperature of intergalactic gas in the simulations may be slightly too low at z = 2.7 and a flatter temperature–density relation is required at z = 2.4, consistent with the expected effects of non-equilibrium ionization during He ii reionization. Oxford University Press 2017-01-01 Article PeerReviewed Bolton, James S., Puchwein, Ewald, Sijacki, Debora, Haehnelt, Martin G., Kim, Tae-Sun, Meiksin, Avery, Regan, John A. and Viel, Matteo (2017) The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 464 (1). pp. 897-914. ISSN 1365-2966 methods: numerical intergalactic medium quasars: absorption lines http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/464/1/897 doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2397 doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2397 |
| spellingShingle | methods: numerical intergalactic medium quasars: absorption lines Bolton, James S. Puchwein, Ewald Sijacki, Debora Haehnelt, Martin G. Kim, Tae-Sun Meiksin, Avery Regan, John A. Viel, Matteo The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title | The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title_full | The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title_fullStr | The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title_short | The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| title_sort | sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the lyman-α forest at redshifts 2≤z≤5 |
| topic | methods: numerical intergalactic medium quasars: absorption lines |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37042/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37042/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37042/ |