Resolution criteria to avoid artificial clumping in Lagrangian hydrodynamic simulations with a multiphase interstellar medium

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 528, pp. 2930–2951

Abstract

ABSTRACT Large-scale cosmological galaxy formation simulations typically prevent gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) from cooling below $\approx 10^4\, \mathrm{K}$. This has been motivated by the inability to resolve the Jeans mass in molecular gas ($\ll 10^5\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) which would result in undesired artificial clumping. We show that the classical Jeans criteria derived for Newtonian gravity are not applicable in the simulated ISM if the spacing of resolution elements representing the dense ISM is below the gravitational force softening length and gravity is therefore softened and not Newtonian. We re-derive the Jeans criteria for softened gravity in Lagrangian codes and use them to analyse gravitational instabilities at and below the hydrodynamical resolution limit for simulations with adaptive and constant gravitational softening lengths. In addition, we define criteria for which a numerical runaway collapse of dense gas clumps can occur caused by oversmoothing of the hydrodynamical properties relative to the gravitational force resolution. This effect is illustrated using simulations of isolated disc galaxies with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code swift. We also demonstrate how to avoid the formation of artificial clumps in gas and stars by adjusting the gravitational and hydrodynamical force resolutions.

Authors 4

1. Sylvia Ploeckinger corresponding Aachen Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics

   Leiden University · University of Vienna

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna , Türkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna , Austria

   Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University , PO Box 9506, NL-2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands

   Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University, PO Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Folkert S J Nobels Aachen Leiden Observatory

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands

3. Matthieu Schaller Aachen Leiden Observatory Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands

   Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University , PO Box 9506, NL-2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands

4. Joop Schaye Aachen Leiden Observatory

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands