Formation and evolution of boxy/peanut bulges in the Auriga cosmological simulations

TL;DR

This study uses the Auriga cosmological simulations to analyze the formation, evolution, and prevalence of boxy/peanut bulges in galaxies, revealing their formation times, structural properties, and redshift-dependent occurrence.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for estimating b/p strength and provides the first detailed analysis of b/p bulge formation and evolution in a cosmological context using Auriga simulations.

Findings

b/p bulges form 1.1-1.6 Gyr after bar formation

b/p structures can dissolve and reform over time

b/p fraction declines with increasing redshift

Abstract

Boxy/peanut (b/p) or X-shaped bulges have been extensively explored with theory and numerical simulations of isolated galaxies. However, it is only recently that advances in hydrodynamical cosmological simulations have made it possible to explore b/p bulges in a cosmological setting, with much remaining to be understood about their formation and evolution. By using the Auriga magneto-hydrodynamical cosmological zoom-in simulations, we characterise the structural parameters of b/p bulges and how they form and evolve throughout cosmic history. We develop a method for estimating the b/p strength that allows us to identify the formation time and size of these structures. We find that b/p bulges in Auriga form between $\sim 1.1-1.6\, \mathrm Gyr$ after bar formation, following a `buckling' episode; some galaxies undergo multiple bucklings and events of b/p growth, with some b/p structures `dissolving' between buckling events. We find that at $z=0$, the b/p bulges have an extent of almost half the bar length. Finally, we analyse the evolution of the b/p fraction over redshift, finding that at $z=0$, two thirds of galaxies host a bar, and of these, $45$ per cent have a b/p. This b/p fraction is within the observed range at $z=0$, although on the low end as compared to some observational studies. The b/p fraction decreases to $20$ per cent at $z=0.5$, and falls to zero at $z \sim 1$; this is in line with the observed trend of declining b/p fraction with redshift. We discuss possible culprits for the apparent mismatch in b/p occurrence between observations and cosmological simulations, what causes them to form (or not) in these simulations, and what this might reveal about models of galaxy formation and evolution.