N exus: A framework for controlled simulations of idealized galaxies

Abstract

Motivated by the need for realistic, dynamically self-consistent, evolving galaxy models that avoid the complexity of full, and zoom-in, cosmological simulations, we have developed Nexus, an integral framework to create and evolve synthetic galaxies made of collisionless and gaseous components. Nexus leverages the power of publicly available, tried-and-tested packages: the stellar-dynamics, action-based library Action-based Galaxy Modelling Architecture (AGAMA); and the adaptive mesh refinement, N-body/hydrodynamical code Ramses, modified to meet our needs. In addition, we make use of a proprietary module to account for galaxy formation physics, including gas cooling and heating, star formation, stellar feedback, and chemical enrichment. Nexus' basic functionality consists in the generation of bespoke initial conditions (ICs) for a diversity of galaxy models, which are advanced in time to simulate the galaxy's evolution. The fully self-consistent ICs are generated with a distribution-function-based approach, as implemented in the galaxy modelling module of AGAMA - up to now restricted to collisionless components, extended in this work to treat two types of gaseous configurations: hot haloes and gas discs. Nexus allows constructing equilibrium models with disc gas fractions, appropriate to model both low- and high-redshift galaxies. Similarly, the framework is ideally suited to the study of galactic ecology, i.e. the dynamical interplay between stars and gas over billions of years. As a validation and illustration of our framework, we reproduce several isolated galaxy model setups reported in earlier studies, and present a new, 'nested bar' galaxy simulation. Future upgrades of Nexus will include magnetohydrodynamics and highly energetic particle ('cosmic ray') heating.