Simulating Clusters of Galaxies with Thermal Conduction

Computer Science – Performance

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

We present a new numerical code for simulations of structure formation, and show preliminary results of its application to the problem of cooling flows in clusters of galaxies with the inclusion of thermal conduction. The new code uses the special purpose hardware (GRAPE) in a distributed environment, in conjunction with a treecode to achieve very fast performance of the gravitational portions, and uses SPH, complete with cooling and thermal conduction to study the effects of baryonic physics. A new, explicitly nested integration scheme is required by the addition of conduction, and is explained and tested. Finally, we show results of simulations of a massive cluster of galaxies in which a strong cooling flow forms in the absence of any halting mechanism. We compare results of runs with and without conduction, and show that the cooling flow can be suppressed to a significant degree by the inclusion of even a global, uniform conductive term. The level of suppression is proportional to a fudge free parameter that sets the conductivity strength, and the picture of the cluster thus generated is still somewhat arbitrary. We assess the likely effects of a more realistic treatment of the conductivity, as well as the inclusion of magnetic fields and feedback heating, all of which are being developed for the next version of the program.

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