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arXiv · 2505.05844

The AGORA High-Resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project VII: Satellite quenching in zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-mass halo

Abstract

Context: Satellite galaxies experience multiple physical processes when interacting with their host halos, often leading to the quenching of star formation. In the Local Group (LG), satellite quenching has been shown to be highly efficient, affecting nearly all satellites except the most massive ones. While recent surveys are studying Milky Way (MW) analogs to assess how representative our LG is, the dominant physical mechanisms behind satellite quenching in MW-mass halos remain under debate. Aims: We analyze satellite quenching within the same MW-mass halo, simulated using various widely-used astrophysical codes, each using different hydrodynamic methods and implementing different supernovae feedback recipes. The goal is to determine whether quenched fractions, quenching timescales and the dominant quenching mechanisms are consistent across codes or if they show sensitivity to the specific hydrodynamic method and supernovae (SNe) feedback physics employed. Methods: We use a subset of high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of a MW-mass halo from the multiple-code AGORA CosmoRun suite. Results: We find that the quenched fraction is consistent with the latest SAGA survey results within its 1$σ$ host-to-host scatter across all the models. Regarding quenching timescales, all the models reproduce the trend observed in the ELVES survey, LG observations, and previous simulations: the less massive the satellite, the shorter its quenching timescale. All our models converge on the dominant quenching mechanisms: strangulation halts cold gas accretion and ram pressure stripping is the predominant mechanism for gas removal, particularly effective in satellites with $M_* < 10^8\, M_\odot$. Nevertheless, the efficiency of the stripping mechanisms differs among the codes, showing a strong sensitivity to the different SNe feedback implementations and/or hydrodynamic methods employed.

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R. Rodríguez-Cardoso, S. Roca-Fàbrega, Minyong Jung, Thinh H. Nguyen, Ji-hoon Kim, Joel Primack, Oscar Agertz, Kirk S. S. Barrow, Jesus Gallego, Kentaro Nagamine, Johnny W. Powell, Yves Revaz, Hector Velázquez, Anna Genina, Hyeonyong Kim, Alessandro Lupi, Tom Abel, Renyue Cen, Daniel Ceverino, Avishai Dekel, Boon Kiat Oh, Thomas R. Quinn. 2025-05-16. The AGORA High-Resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project VII: Satellite quenching in zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-mass halo. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%2F202453639

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