Research

Understanding the interplay between AGN feedback and precipitation of the intracluster medium

Using a newly developed set-up for galaxy groups and clusters I study the interplay between the brightest cluster galaxy, its supermassive black hole and the intracluster medium (ICM). These simulations include radiative cooling, star formation, BH accretion and stellar and AGN feedback. Despite using purely thermal AGN feedback, AGN outflows are anisotropic and lead to buoyantly rising bubbles. For low mass haloes we find that the central galaxy is quickly quenched and converted to non-cool-core systems. In contrast, higher mass haloes remain cool-core and develop episodes of high BHAR that raise the entropy of the ICM and therefore suppressing condensation, and after a delay, the BHAR. The corresponding reduction in AGN feedback allows the ICM to cool and become unstable to precipitation thus initiating a new episode of high SFR and BHAR. The paper can be found here.

• The supplementary information can be found here.
• Extra material not in the paper.

Simulations of disk galaxies

Besides simulating the most massive elliptical galaxies, I am also studying idealised disk galaxies. I am currently working on two different aspects of using disk galaxies to understand galaxy evolution:

• One of the most known observables for star formation in disk galaxies is the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation. I am looking how well different star formation criteria are able to match the KS relation, here I look at density thresholds, temperature criteria or criteria that depend on the dynamics of the gas. In this work I developed a new star formation criterion that only allows gas that is gravitationally bound to form stars. Besides looking at different star formation models I also look at the different KS relations for molecular and atomic gas (and the total) and how well these compare with observations.
• Using disk galaxies with different bulge sizes and masses I am investigating why, how and when star formation in disk galaxies is suppressed due to morphological quenching.

state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamical simulations

I am involved in the COLIBRE project, more comming soon.

Full list of publications

A full list of my publications can be found on ADS, click here.