NEFERTITI: Linking early galaxy formation to the assembly of the Milky Way

TL;DR

The paper introduces NEFERTITI, a galaxy formation model linked to high-resolution simulations, to study early galaxy formation and its connection to the Milky Way's assembly, including PopIII stars and metal-poor populations.

Contribution

It presents a new implementation of NEFERTITI coupled with simulations, resolving minihaloes, tracking inhomogeneous enrichment, and connecting early galaxy formation to the Milky Way's structure.

Findings

PopIII stars form from z~27, peaking at z~10-15, and persist to z<5.

Most metal-poor stars are enriched by few low-energy supernovae.

Accreted stars dominate at [Fe/H]<-1 and are mainly from a few massive destroyed dwarfs.

Abstract

We use a new implementation of the NEFERTITI galaxy formation model, coupled to $\sim 30$ high-resolution Caterpillar dark-matter simulations of Milky Way (MW) analogues, to connect early galaxy formation with the MW's assembly down to $z=0$. Our locally-constrained model resolves minihaloes hosting the first PopIII stars and self-consistently tracks inhomogeneous ionization and chemical enrichment. PopIII star formation begins at $z\simeq27$, peaks at $z\simeq10-15$, and persists down to $z\lesssim5$, producing PopIII systems with $M_*\sim10-5\times10^5\:{\rm M_\odot}$. The present-day descendants of PopIII stars span ${\rm [Fe/H]<-9}$ to ${\rm [Fe/H]\approx-1}$, with the most metal-poor stars typically enriched by a few (1-4) low-energy supernova progenitors. Pair-instability supernova descendants more commonly form in massive haloes ($M_{\rm vir}>10^8\:{\rm M_\odot}$), often externally enriched, reflecting the strong feedback and delayed recovery following energetic explosions. These early systems serve as building blocks for the present-day Galaxy's metal-poor component: although 90$\%$ of the total stellar mass formed in situ, the accreted component dominates at $[{\rm Fe/H}]<-1$ and accounts for nearly all stars with $[{\rm Fe/H}]<-3$. This accreted population is largely built by a few ($\sim5$) massive ($M_*>10^8\:{\rm M_\odot}$) destroyed dwarfs, but lower-mass systems become increasingly important at low metallicities, with ultra-faint and classical dSph analogues contributing $\sim25\%$ at $[{\rm Fe/H}]<-3$. Our model simultaneously reproduces the properties of metal-poor MW stars and the JWST "Hebe" galaxy at $z\sim11$, supporting its identification as a pure PopIII system. Ultimately, NEFERTITI is a key tool to interpret upcoming local and high-$z$ observations linking the near- and far-field cosmology.