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

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 10 10 –10 11 M ⊙ 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 halo ≥5 × 10 10 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.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2026-03-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae4a23
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

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

Kirk S. S. Barrow, Alessandro Lupi, Keita Fukushima, Ramón Rodríguez-Cardoso et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
article

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

Kirk S. S. Barrow, Alessandro Lupi, Keita Fukushima, Ramón Rodríguez-Cardoso, Ji-hoon Kim, Ty W. Abel, Minyong Jung, S. Roca-Fàbrega, Kentaro Nagamine, Ikkoh Shimizu, Robert Feldmann, H. Velázquez, Yuri Oku, Romain Teyssier, Daniel Ceverino, Oscar Agertz, Boon Kiat Oh, Hyeonyong Kim, C. Jeong, John Wesley Powell, Joel Primack, Pablo Granizo, Thomas R. Quinn, Yves Revaz, Lucio Mayer
article en

Abstract

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 10 10 –10 11 M ⊙ 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 halo ≥5 × 10 10 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.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 1000(2)
University of Insubria (IT), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES), Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KR), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US), Seoul National University (KR), University of Connecticut (US), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), Shikoku Gakuin University (JP), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Lund University (SE), ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences (CH), Princeton University (US), University of Washington (US), University of Zurich (CH), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US), Kyung Hee University (KR), Osservatorio astronomico di Bologna (IT), Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (US), Osaka Health Science University (JP), National University College (PR), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), Reed College (US), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), The University of Tokyo (JP), Zhejiang University (CN), GMV Innovating Solutions (Spain) (ES), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), Stanford University (US), The University of Osaka (JP)
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.