cogsworth: A Gala of COSMIC proportions combining binary stellar evolution and galactic dynamics

TL;DR

Cogsworth is an open-source Python tool that combines binary stellar evolution and galactic dynamics to simulate and analyze stellar populations, their evolution, and observable properties in galaxies.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive, flexible framework integrating population synthesis, galactic dynamics, and observational modeling, with capabilities demonstrated through diverse astrophysical use cases.

Findings

Predicted spatial distribution of compact objects and runaways in galaxies

Showed how supernovae influence stellar orbits in star clusters

Generated synthetic Gaia color-magnitude diagrams for stellar populations

Abstract

We present cogsworth, an open-source Python tool for producing self-consistent population synthesis and galactic dynamics simulations. With cogsworth one can (1) sample a population of binaries and star formation history, (2) perform rapid (binary) stellar evolution, (3) integrate orbits through the galaxy and (4) inspect the full evolutionary history of each star or compact object, as well as their positions and kinematics. We include the functionality for post-processing hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations as a basis for galactic potentials and star formation histories to better account for initial spatial stellar clustering and more complex potentials. Alternatively, several analytic models are available for both the potential and star formation history. cogsworth can transform the intrinsic simulated population to an observed population through the joint application of dust maps, bolometric correction functions and survey selection functions. We provide a detailed explanation of the functionality of cogsworth and demonstrate its capabilities through a series of use cases: (1) We predict the spatial distribution of compact objects and runaways in both dwarf and Milky-Way-like galaxies, (2) using a star cluster from a hydrodynamical simulation, we show how supernovae can change the orbits of stars in several ways, and (3) we predict the separation of disrupted binary stellar companions on the sky and create a synthetic Gaia colour-magnitude diagram. We also discuss some current limitations and plans for future developments. We designed cogsworth and its online documentation to provide a powerful tool for constraining binary evolution, but also a flexible and accessible resource for the entire community.