Numerical Astrophysics

Simulación numérica de la formación de galaxias en modelos de agregación jerárquica.

Formación y Evolución de Galaxias

Within Extragalactic Astronomy the study of formation and evolution of galaxies is at its golden age because of the dramatic results achieved by leading-age ground-based and terrestial telescopes and the immense progress obtained by numerical models. We now have information on the kinematics, dynamics, chemical, etc., properties of galaxies and their environmets at different stages of the evolution of the Universe. These results allow us to contrain theoretical models in more detail through the performance of numerical experiments.

Numerical simulations are a powerful tool to study the formation and evolution of the structure within a cosmological framework since they allow the description the evolution of the density mass fluctuations in the linear and non-linear regimes. In particular, the gravitational evolution of the matter can be followed at a high degree of resolution at different scales. The study of the luminous matter is more complicated since it involves processes such as heating, cooling, star formation, etc. which are difficult to be introduced in numerical models within a cosmological context. Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) has resulted in a convenient and useful technique to tackle the evolution of baryons.

Currently, we are involved in different projects related to the formation and evolution of the structure in the Universe by using Hydrodynamical cosmological simulations based on the SPH technique.