How non-thermal pressure impacts the modelling of star formation in galaxy formation simulations

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified sub-grid star formation model that incorporates non-thermal components like magnetic fields, improving the physical realism and predictive power of galaxy formation simulations.

Contribution

It presents a new approach to include magnetic pressure in star formation models, ensuring consistent treatment of non-thermal processes in cosmological simulations.

Findings

The model reproduces global magnetic field properties in Milky Way-like galaxies.

It captures the anti-correlation between magnetic field strength and star formation rate.

The approach improves the physical accuracy of galaxy formation simulations.

Abstract

In cosmological simulations of large-scale structure star formation and feedback in galaxies are modelled by so-called sub-grid models, that represent a physically motivated approximation of processes occurring below the resolution limit. However, when additional physical processes are considered in these simulations, for instance, magnetic fields or cosmic rays, they are often not consistently coupled within the descriptions of the underlying sub-grid star formation models. Here, we present a careful study on how one of the most commonly used sub-grid models for star formation in current large-scale cosmological simulations can be modified to self consistently include the effects of non-thermal components (e.g., magnetic fields) within the fluid. We demonstrate that our new modelling approach, that includes the magnetic pressure as an additional regulation on star formation, can reproduce global properties of the magnetic field within galaxies in a setup of an isolated Milky Way-like galaxy simulation, but is also successful in reproducing local properties such as the anti-correlation between the local magnetic field strength with the local star formation rate as observed in galaxies (i.e. NGC 1097). This reveals how crucial a consistent treatment of different physical processes is within cosmological simulations and gives guidance for future simulations.