Related papers: Major Mergers Going Notts: Challenges for Modern H…
We examine the effect of using different halo finders and merger tree building algorithms on galaxy properties predicted using the GALFORM semi-analytical model run on a high resolution, large volume dark matter simulation. The halo…
This paper presents a study of the specific merger rate as a function of group membership, local environment, and redshift in a very large, $500h^{-1} Mpc$, cosmological N-body simulation, the \textit{Millennium Simulation}. The goal is to…
We present a new algorithm for generating merger trees and halo catalogs which explicitly ensures consistency of halo properties (mass, position, and velocity) across timesteps. Our algorithm has demonstrated the ability to improve both the…
Several lines of evidence suggest that as dark matter haloes grow their scale radius increases, and that the density in their central region drops. Major mergers seem an obvious mechanism to explain both these phenomena, and the resulting…
[abridged] We present a detailed comparison of fundamental dark matter halo properties retrieved by a substantial number of different halo finders. These codes span a wide range of techniques including friends-of-friends (FOF),…
We expand our previous study on the relationship between changes in the orientation of the angular momentum vector of dark matter haloes ("spin flips") and changes in their mass (Bett & Frenk 2012), to cover the full range of halo masses in…
High-resolution simulations of cosmological structure formation indicate that dark matter substructure in dense environments, like groups and clusters, may survive for a long time. These dark matter subhalos are the likely hosts of…
(abridged) We study the mass assembly history (MAH) of dark matter haloes. We compare MAHs obtained using (i) merger trees constructed with the extended Press-Schechter (EPS) formalism, (ii) numerical simulations, and (iii) the Lagrangian…
Halo merger trees describe the hierarchical mass assembly of dark matter haloes, and are the backbone for modeling galaxy formation and evolution. Merger trees constructed using Monte Carlo algorithms based on the extended Press-Schechter…
Merger trees follow the growth and merger of dark-matter haloes over cosmic history. As well as giving important insights into the growth of cosmic structure in their own right, they provide an essential backbone to semi-analytic models of…
We introduce gbpTrees: an algorithm for constructing merger trees from cosmological simulations, designed to identify and correct for pathological cases introduced by errors or ambiguities in the halo finding process. gbpTrees is built upon…
We investigate the evolution of dark matter halo spin alignments with respect to cosmic filaments, exploring how halo mass, proximity to filaments, and major mergers influence their orientation over time. We perform a suite of dark…
Numerical simulations have shown that massive dark matter haloes, which today host galaxy clusters, assemble their mass over time alternating periods of quiescent accretion and phases of rapid growth associated with major merger episodes.…
The structural properties of individual dark matter haloes, including shape, spin, concentration, and substructure, are linked to the halo's growth history, but the exact connection between the two is unclear. One open question, in…
Galaxies are believed to be in one-to-one correspondence with simulated dark matter subhalos. We use high-resolution N-body simulations of cosmological volumes to calculate the statistical properties of subhalo (galaxy) major mergers at…
In the CDM cosmological framework structures grow from merging with smaller structures. Merging should have observable effects on galaxies including destroying disks and creating spheroids. This proceeding aims to give a brief overview of…
We study merger histories of dark-matter haloes in a suite of N-body simulations that span different cosmological models. The simulated cases include the up-to-date WMAP5 cosmology and other test cases based on the Einstein-deSitter…
(Abridged) We develop a model for the cosmological role of mergers in the evolution of starbursts, quasars, and spheroidal galaxies. Combining halo mass functions (MFs) with empirical halo occupation models, we calculate where major…
We developed a new method to extract halo merger rates from the Millennium Simulation. First, by removing superfluous mergers that are artifacts of the FOF halo finder, we find a lower merger rate compared to previous work. The reductions…
Galaxy cluster merger statistics are an important component in understanding the formation of large-scale structure. Unfortunately, it is difficult to study merger properties and evolution directly because the identification of cluster…