Abstract
In the hierarchical model, small galaxies form first and merge together
into more massive objects. In addition, numerical simulations recently
emphasized the role of smooth gas accretion. Using state-of-the-art
cosmological hydrodynamical multi-zoom simulations, we studied the
formation and evolution of galaxies in a dense environment. We detected
the structures in the simulations, both for dark matter haloes and baryonic
galaxies. For the latter, we explored the parameter space of the structure
finder to be able to detect galaxies. We then built the merger trees of
the haloes and the galaxies.We focused on the properties of the haloes in
this dense environment, studying the effect of the environment on
the mass function as well as its evolution in time. We found a hierarchical
trend, with low mass structures forming first, and merging into more massive
ones. We studied then the baryon contents of the haloes, and the evolution
of the baryons in stars, condensed, diffuse and hot gas. Finally, we studied
the relation between the mass and the velocity dispersion of galaxies and
haloes.In a second part, we studied the mass assembly of galaxies,
distinguishing between the mass smoothly accreted and the mass assembled by
mergers. We followed the mass assembly of all our galaxies, and found that
it is dominated by smooth accretion. We also found a downsizing trend,
with massive galaxies having older stars than less massive ones. This
downsizing is however not incompatible with the hierarchical scenario.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Place of Publication | [Groningen] |
Publisher | |
Publication status | Published - Nov-2011 |
Keywords
- Cosmology
- N-body
- Galaxies
- Galaxy formation
- Accretion (astrophysics)
- Numerical simulations