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Creators/Authors contains: "Piotrowska, Joanna M"

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  1. Abstract We utilize the cosmological volume simulation FIREbox to investigate how a galaxy’s environment influences its size and dark matter content. Our study focuses on approximately 1200 galaxies (886 central and 332 satellite halos) in the low-mass regime, with stellar masses between 106and 109M. We analyze the size–mass relation (r50–M), the inner dark matter mass–stellar mass ( M DM 50 –M) relation, and the halo mass–stellar mass (Mhalo–M) relation. At fixed stellar mass, we find that galaxies experiencing stronger tidal influences, indicated by higher Perturbation Indices (PI > 1) are generally larger and have lower halo masses relative to their counterparts with lower Perturbation Indices (PI < 1). Applying a Random Forest regression model, we show that both the environment (PI) and halo mass (Mhalo) are significant predictors of a galaxy’s relative size and dark matter content. Notably, becauseMhalois also strongly affected by the environment, our findings indicate that environmental conditions not only influence galactic sizes and relative inner dark matter content directly, but also indirectly, through their impact on halo mass. Our results highlight a critical interplay between environmental factors and halo mass in shaping galaxy properties, affirming the environment as a fundamental driver in galaxy formation and evolution. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available April 10, 2026
  2. Recent radiation-thermochemical-magnetohydrodynamic simulations resolved formation of quasar accretion disks from cosmological scales down to ~300 gravitational radii R g , arguing they were ‘hyper-magnetized’ (plasma β 1 supported by toroidal magnetic fields) and distinct from traditional α -disks. We extend these, refining to 3 R g around a BH with multi-channel radiation and thermochemistry, and exploring a factor of 1000 range of accretion rates ( m ̇ 0.01 20 ). At smaller scales, we see the disks maintain steady accretion, thermalize and self-ionize, and radiation pressure grows in importance, but large deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium and single-phase equations of state are always present. Trans-Alfvenic and highly-supersonic turbulence persists in all cases, and leads to efficient vertical mixing, so radiation pressure saturates at levels comparable to fluctuating magnetic and turbulent pressures even for m ̇ 1 . The disks also become radiatively inefficient in the inner regions at high m ̇ . The midplane magnetic field remains primarily toroidal at large radii, but at super-Eddington m ̇ we see occasional transitions to a poloidal-field dominated state associated with outflows and flares. Large-scale magnetocentrifugal and continuum radiation-pressure-driven outflows are weak at m ̇ < 1 , but can be strong at m ̇ 1 . In all cases there is a scattering photosphere above the disk extending to 1000 R g at large m ̇ , and the disk is thick and flared owing to magnetic support (with H / R nearly independent of m ̇ ), so the outer disk is strongly illuminated by the inner disk and most of the inner disk continuum scatters or is reprocessed at larger scales, giving apparent emission region sizes as large as . 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026