The Sphinx Public Data Release: Forward Modelling High-Redshift JWST Observations with Cosmological Radiation Hydrodynamics Simulations

TL;DR

The paper introduces the Sphinx$^{20}$ simulation data set, providing detailed mock observations and galaxy properties to aid interpretation of high-redshift JWST data, bridging models and observations of early galaxy formation.

Contribution

It presents the first comprehensive public data release of cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations tailored for high-redshift galaxy studies with JWST.

Findings

Comparison with JWST observations demonstrates the simulation's realism.

The data set includes detailed galaxy properties and mock images for over 14,000 galaxies.

The simulation captures complex ISM physics and cosmic reionization processes.

Abstract

The recent launch of JWST has ushered in a new era of high-redshift astronomy by providing detailed insights into the gas and stellar populations of galaxies in the epoch of reionization. Interpreting these observations and translating them into constraints on the physics of early galaxy formation is a complex challenge that requires sophisticated models of star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) in high-redshift galaxies. To this end, we present Version 1 of the Sphinx$^{20}$ public data release. Sphinx$^{20}$ is a full box cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulation that simultaneously models the large-scale process of cosmic reionization and the detailed physics of a multiphase ISM, providing a statistical sample of galaxies akin to those currently being observed by JWST. The data set contains $\sim14,000$ mock images and spectra of the stellar continuum, nebular continuum, and 52 nebular emission lines, including Ly$\alpha$, for each galaxy in Sphinx$^{20}$ with a star formation rate $\geq0.3\ {\rm M_{\odot}\ yr^{-1}}$. All galaxy emission has been processed with dust radiative transfer and/or resonant line radiative transfer, and data is provided for ten viewing angles for each galaxy. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive set of intrinsic galaxy properties, including halo masses, stellar masses, star formation histories, and ISM characteristics (e.g., metallicity, ISM gas densities, LyC escape fractions). This paper outlines the data generation methods, presents a comparative analysis with JWST ERS and Cycle 1 observations, and addresses data set limitations. The Sphinx$^{20}$ data release can be downloaded at the following URL: https://github.com/HarleyKatz/SPHINX-20-data