Simba: The average properties of the circumgalactic medium of $2 \leq z \leq 3$ quasars are determined primarily by stellar feedback

TL;DR

This study uses the Simba simulation to show that stellar feedback, rather than AGN feedback, primarily shapes the average properties of the circumgalactic medium around quasars at redshifts 2-3, aligning well with observations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that stellar feedback significantly influences the CGM around high-redshift quasars, while AGN feedback has minimal impact, providing new insights into feedback mechanisms in galaxy evolution.

Findings

Stellar feedback impacts CGM thermodynamics and kinematics.

Simba overproduces Ly-alpha absorption within 100 kpc compared to observations.

Simba predicts more absorption than Nyx and Illustris simulations.

Abstract

We use the Simba cosmological hydrodynamic simulation suite to explore the impact of feedback on the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and intergalactic medium (IGM) around $2 \leq z \leq 3$ quasars. We identify quasars in Simba as the most rapidly-accreting black holes, and show that they are well-matched in bolometric luminosity and correlation strength to real quasars. We extract Lyman-alpha (Ly-a) absorption in spectra passing at different transverse distances (10 kpc $\lesssim b \lesssim$ 10 Mpc) around those quasars, and compare to observations of the mean Ly-a absorption profile. The observations are well reproduced, except within 100 kpc from the foreground quasar, where Simba overproduces absorption; this could potentially be mitigated by including ionisation from the quasar itself. By comparing runs with different feedback modules activated, we find that (mechanical) AGN feedback has little impact on the surrounding CGM even around these most highly luminous black holes, while stellar feedback has a significant impact. By further investigating thermodynamic and kinematic properties of CGM gas, we find that stellar feedback, and not AGN feedback, is the primary physical driver in determining the average properties of the CGM around $z\sim 2-3$ quasars. We also compare our results with previous works, and find that Simba predicts much more absorption within 100 kpc than the Nyx and Illustris simulations, showing that the Ly-a absorption profile can be a powerful constraint on simulations. Instruments such as VLT-MUSE and upcoming surveys (e.g., WEAVE and DESI) promise to further improve such constraints.