Mechanisms Affecting Galaxies Nearby and Environmental Trends (MAGNET)
Abstract
[ABRIDGED] Galaxy evolution is shaped by internal and external mechanisms that regulate the baryon cycle and star formation activity. We present a theoretical framework based on the GAlaxy Evolution and Assembly (GAEA) semi-analytic model. We extracted portions of simulated volumes that include isolated galaxies, pairs, group, and filament members at z ~ 0, specifically avoiding massive clusters. Galaxies were classified using both intrinsic (halo-based) and observational (2D projected) parameterizations, reconstructing their environmental histories from z = 2 and identifying mergers, tidal interactions, ram pressure stripping (RPS), and starvation. 2D information decreases isolated and group fractions while doubles pairs. More than half of galaxies remain unaffected by the investigated processes since z = 2. Among affected galaxies, mergers dominate at high stellar masses (40-60% at log(M*/Msun) > 10.5). Tidal interactions are less frequent, and their incidence increases with stellar mass. RPS dominates in groups and filaments at intermediate masses (~50%), while starvation ranges from 20 to 30%. The incidence of the different mechanisms depends strongly on both mass and environment, though their imprints on global properties are often subtle. Distinct evolutionary pathways emerge: log(M*/Msun) < 9.5, galaxies in groups and filaments have a faster mass growth than galaxies in the other environments, especially those undergoing starvation, mergers and, to less extent, RPS. Differences are reduced moving to higher masses, where no clear dependence on physical mechanism emerge, even though at these masses a clear star formation suppression is evident in mergers and starved galaxies. This theoretical investigation provides essential context for the recently started multi-wavelength program Mechanisms Affecting Galaxies Nearby and Environmental Trends (MAGNET), which we introduce here.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.15142,
title = {Mechanisms Affecting Galaxies Nearby and Environmental Trends (MAGNET)},
author = {Benedetta Vulcani and Gabriella De Lucia and Daria Zakharova and Paolo Serra and Lizhi Xie and Stefania Barsanti and Bianca Maria Poggianti and Alessia Moretti and Marco Gullieuszik and Yannick Bahé and Fabio Fontanot and Jacopo Fritz and Fabio Gastaldello and Massimo Gaspari and Michaela Hirschmann and Yara Jaffe and Konstantinos Kolokythas and Alessandro Ignesti and Augusto Lassen and Alessandro Loni and Lorenzo Lovisari and Antonino Marasco and Sphesihle Makhathini and Sean McGee and Moses Mogotsi and D. J. Pisano and Mpati Ramatsoku and Oleg Smirnov and Rory Smith and Stephanie Tonnesen and Marc Verheijen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.15142},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
Revised version after referee's comments. 29 pages plus Appendix