Investigating the Stellar Mg/Fe Trends in Group and Cluster Central Galaxies Using the Simba-C Cosmological Simulation

Project Description:

Observations show that central galaxies in groups and clusters have higher [Mg/Fe] ratios with increasing mass, suggesting a rapid early burst of star formation dominated by Type II supernovae before delayed Type Ia enrichment. Traditional models with a fixed IMF struggle to match this trend without assuming a variable or top-heavy IMF. Recent studies (DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15924.x and DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2407.07971) propose that refining star formation histories, feedback, and chemical yields can resolve these issues. Simba-C’s updated enrichment models offer an excellent testbed. Problem Statement: This honours project will assess whether the Simba-C simulation reproduces the observed trends in stellar chemical abundance, especially [Mg/Fe], in group and cluster central galaxies by exploring the relation between stellar velocity dispersion and chemical properties, and determining if rapid early star formation and quenching emerge without extreme IMF variations

Research Area:

Astronomy

Project Level:

Honours

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(NWU)

Special Requirements:

The student should have experience in programming in Python.