Rhapsody. I. Structural Properties and Formation History From a Statistical Sample of Re-simulated Cluster-size Halos

TL;DR

This study uses a large set of high-resolution simulations of galaxy cluster-sized dark matter halos to analyze how their formation history influences their structural properties and deviations from standard density models.

Contribution

It provides the first statistical characterization of halo properties and their correlations at fixed mass using an extensive re-simulation sample of cluster halos.

Findings

Deviations from NFW and Einasto profiles depend on formation time.

Late-forming halos show larger deviations and more massive subhalos.

Early-forming halos are better described by the Einasto model.

Abstract

We present the first results from the Rhapsody cluster re-simulation project: a sample of 96 "zoom-in" simulations of dark matter halos of 10^14.8 +- 0.05 Msun/h, selected from a 1 (Gpc/h)^3 volume. This simulation suite is the first to resolve this many halos with ~5x10^6 particles per halo in the cluster-mass regime, allowing us to statistically characterize the distribution of and correlation between halo properties at fixed mass. We focus on the properties of the main halos and how they are affected by formation history, which we track back to z=12, over five decades in mass. We give particular attention to the impact of the formation history on the density profiles of the halos. We find that the deviations from the Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) model and the Einasto model depend on formation time. Late-forming halos tend to have considerable deviations from both models, partly due to the presence of massive subhalos, while early-forming halos deviate less but still significantly from the NFW model and are better described by the Einasto model. We find that the halo shapes depend only moderately on formation time. Departure from spherical symmetry impacts the density profiles through the anisotropic distribution of massive subhalos. Further evidence of the impact of subhalos is provided by analyzing the phase-space structure. A detailed analysis of the properties of the subhalo population in Rhapsody is presented in a companion paper.