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The AGORA High-resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project. X. Formation and Evolution of Galaxies at the High-redshift Frontier

Kim, Hyeonyong ; Kim, Ji Hoon ; Jung, Minyong ; Roca-Fàbrega, Santi LU orcid ; Ceverino, Daniel ; Granizo, Pablo ; Nagamine, Kentaro ; Primack, Joel R. ; Velázquez, Héctor and Barrow, Kirk S.S. , et al. (2026) In Astrophysical Journal 1000(2).
Abstract

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unexpectedly luminous galaxies, exhibiting stellar masses and luminosities significantly higher than predicted by theoretical models at Cosmic Dawn. In this study, we present a suite of cosmological zoomed-in simulations targeting high-redshift (z ≥ 10) galaxies with dark matter halo masses in the range 1010-1011M⊙ at z = 10, using state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulation codes (Enzo, Ramses, Changa, Gadget-3, Gadget-4, and Gizmo). This study aims to evaluate the convergence of the participating codes and their reproducibility of high-redshift galaxies with the galaxy formation model calibrated at relatively low redshift, without... (More)

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unexpectedly luminous galaxies, exhibiting stellar masses and luminosities significantly higher than predicted by theoretical models at Cosmic Dawn. In this study, we present a suite of cosmological zoomed-in simulations targeting high-redshift (z ≥ 10) galaxies with dark matter halo masses in the range 1010-1011M⊙ at z = 10, using state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulation codes (Enzo, Ramses, Changa, Gadget-3, Gadget-4, and Gizmo). This study aims to evaluate the convergence of the participating codes and their reproducibility of high-redshift galaxies with the galaxy formation model calibrated at relatively low redshift, without additional physics for high-redshift environments. The subgrid physics follows the AGORA CosmoRun framework, with adjustments to resolution and initial conditions to emulate similar physical environments in the early Universe. The participating codes show consistent results for key galaxy properties (e.g., stellar mass), but also reveal notable differences (e.g., metallicity), indicating that galaxy properties at high redshifts are highly sensitive to the feedback implementation of the simulation. Massive halos (Mhalo≥5 × 1010 M⊙ at z = 10) succeed in reproducing observed stellar masses, metallicities, and UV luminosities at 10 ≤ z ≤ 12 without requiring additional subgrid physics, but tend to underpredict those properties at higher redshift. We also find that varying the dust-to-metal ratio modestly affects UV luminosity of simulated galaxies, whereas the absence of dust significantly enhances it. In future work, higher-resolution simulations will be conducted to better understand the formation and evolution of galaxies at Cosmic Dawn.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Astrophysical Journal
volume
1000
issue
2
article number
276
publisher
American Astronomical Society
external identifiers
  • scopus:105034226934
ISSN
0004-637X
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/ae4a23
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
83859305-cd14-4777-9ead-f281b722dea0
date added to LUP
2026-05-13 11:45:46
date last changed
2026-05-13 11:46:24
@article{83859305-cd14-4777-9ead-f281b722dea0,
  abstract     = {{<p>Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unexpectedly luminous galaxies, exhibiting stellar masses and luminosities significantly higher than predicted by theoretical models at Cosmic Dawn. In this study, we present a suite of cosmological zoomed-in simulations targeting high-redshift (z ≥ 10) galaxies with dark matter halo masses in the range 10<sup>10</sup>-10<sup>11</sup>M<sub>⊙</sub> at z = 10, using state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulation codes (Enzo, Ramses, Changa, Gadget-3, Gadget-4, and Gizmo). This study aims to evaluate the convergence of the participating codes and their reproducibility of high-redshift galaxies with the galaxy formation model calibrated at relatively low redshift, without additional physics for high-redshift environments. The subgrid physics follows the AGORA CosmoRun framework, with adjustments to resolution and initial conditions to emulate similar physical environments in the early Universe. The participating codes show consistent results for key galaxy properties (e.g., stellar mass), but also reveal notable differences (e.g., metallicity), indicating that galaxy properties at high redshifts are highly sensitive to the feedback implementation of the simulation. Massive halos (M<sub>halo</sub>≥5 × 10<sup>10</sup> M<sub>⊙</sub> at z = 10) succeed in reproducing observed stellar masses, metallicities, and UV luminosities at 10 ≤ z ≤ 12 without requiring additional subgrid physics, but tend to underpredict those properties at higher redshift. We also find that varying the dust-to-metal ratio modestly affects UV luminosity of simulated galaxies, whereas the absence of dust significantly enhances it. In future work, higher-resolution simulations will be conducted to better understand the formation and evolution of galaxies at Cosmic Dawn.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kim, Hyeonyong and Kim, Ji Hoon and Jung, Minyong and Roca-Fàbrega, Santi and Ceverino, Daniel and Granizo, Pablo and Nagamine, Kentaro and Primack, Joel R. and Velázquez, Héctor and Barrow, Kirk S.S. and Feldmann, Robert and Fukushima, Keita and Mayer, Lucio and Oh, Boon Kiat and Powell, Johnny W. and Abel, Tom and Agertz, Oscar and Jeong, Chaerin and Lupi, Alessandro and Oku, Yuri and Quinn, Thomas R. and Revaz, Yves and Rodríguez-Cardoso, Ramón and Shimizu, Ikkoh and Teyssier, Romain}},
  issn         = {{0004-637X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{American Astronomical Society}},
  series       = {{Astrophysical Journal}},
  title        = {{The AGORA High-resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project. X. Formation and Evolution of Galaxies at the High-redshift Frontier}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae4a23}},
  doi          = {{10.3847/1538-4357/ae4a23}},
  volume       = {{1000}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}