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The radial acceleration relation (RAR) connects the total gravitational acceleration of a galaxy at a given radius, atot(r), with that accounted for by baryons at the same radius, abar(r). The shape and tightness of the RAR for rotationally-supported galaxies have characteristics in line with MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and can also arise within the cosmological constant + cold dark matter (ΛCDM) paradigm. We use zoom simulations of 20 galaxies with stellar masses of M⋆ ≃ 107–11 M⊙ to study the RAR in the FIRE-2 simulations. We highlight the existence of simulated galaxies with non-monotonic RAR tracks that ‘hook’ down from the average relation. These hooks are challenging to explain in Modified Inertia theories of MOND, but naturally arise in all of our ΛCDM-simulated galaxies that are dark-matter dominated at small radii and have feedback-induced cores in their dark matter haloes. We show, analytically and numerically, that downward hooks are expected in such cored haloes because they have non-monotonic acceleration profiles. We also extend the relation to accelerations below those traced by disc galaxy rotation curves. In this regime, our simulations exhibit ‘bends’ off of the MOND-inspired extrapolation of the RAR, which, at large radii, approach atot ≈ abar/fb, where fb is the cosmic baryon fraction. Future efforts to search for these hooks and bends in real galaxies will provide interesting tests for MOND and ΛCDM.

 

We measure the metallicities of 374 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the isolated, quenched dwarf galaxy Tucana using Hubble Space Telescope narrowband (F395N) calcium H and K imaging. Our sample is a factor of ∼7 larger than what is available from previous studies. Our main findings are as follows. (i) A global metallicity distribution function (MDF) with$〈\mathrm{[Fe/H]}〉=-{1.55}_{-0.04}^{+0.04}$and${\sigma }_{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}={0.54}_{-0.03}^{+0.03}$. (ii) A metallicity gradient of −0.54 ± 0.07 dex$R_e^{-1}$(−2.1 ± 0.3 dex kpc⁻¹) over the extent of our imaging (∼2.5R_e), which is steeper than literature measurements. Our finding is consistent with predicted gradients from the publicly available FIRE-2 simulations, in which bursty star formation creates stellar population gradients and dark matter cores. (iii) Tucana’s bifurcated RGB has distinct metallicities: a blue RGB with$〈\mathrm{[Fe/H]}〉=-{1.78}_{-0.06}^{+0.06}$and${\sigma }_{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}={0.44}_{-0.06}^{+0.07}$and a red RGB with$〈\mathrm{[Fe/H]}〉=-{1.08}_{-0.07}^{+0.07}$and${\sigma }_{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}={0.42}_{-0.06}^{+0.06}$. (iv) At fixed stellar mass, Tucana is more metal-rich than Milky Way satellites by ∼0.4 dex, but its blue RGB is chemically comparable to the satellites. Tucana’s MDF appears consistent with star-forming isolated dwarfs, though MDFs of the latter are not as well populated. (v) About 2% of Tucana’s stars have [Fe/H] < −3% and 20% have [Fe/H] > −1. We provide a catalog for community spectroscopic follow-up.

 

The formation of ultra diffuse satellite galaxies (UDSGs) within Λ CDM cosmology is a key area of study in theoretical galaxy formation because current models struggle to produce low-mass galaxies with a wide variety of morphologies. We identified 16 UDSGs around 8 Milky Way-mass hosts in the FIRE-2 simulations based on their large sizes in comparison to typical satellites. We selected an analogue of the observed Milky Way UDSG Antlia II in the stellar mass range 10^6−6.5 M_⊙for further study. The analogue likely underwent a tidal shock near its first pericenter passage as it came within <10 kpc of its host. The analogue galaxy subsequently experienced significant tidal stripping of its dark matter and puffing up of its stellar distribution, causing it to transform into an UDSG.

 

Low-mass galaxies are highly susceptible to environmental effects that can efficiently quench star formation. We explore the role of ram pressure in quenching low-mass galaxies ($M_{*}\sim 10^{5}{-}10^{9}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) within 2 Mpc of Milky Way (MW) hosts using the FIRE-2 simulations. Ram pressure is highly variable across different environments, within individual MW haloes, and for individual low-mass galaxies over time. The impulsiveness of ram pressure – the maximum ram pressure scaled to the integrated ram pressure prior to quenching – correlates with whether a galaxy is quiescent or star forming. The time-scale between maximum ram pressure and quenching is anticorrelated with impulsiveness, such that high impulsiveness corresponds to quenching time-scales <1 Gyr. Galaxies in low-mass groups ($M_\mathrm{*,host}10^{7}{-}10^{9}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) outside of MW haloes experience typical ram pressure only slightly lower than ram pressure on MW satellites, helping to explain effective quenching via group preprocessing. Ram pressure on MW satellites rises sharply with decreasing distance to the host, and, at a fixed physical distance, more recent pericentre passages are typically associated with higher ram pressure because of greater gas density in the inner host halo at late times. Furthermore, the ram pressure and gas density in the inner regions of Local Group-like paired host haloes are higher at small angles off the host galaxy disc compared to isolated hosts. The quiescent fraction of satellites within these low-latitude regions is also elevated in the simulations and observations, signaling possible anisotropic quenching via ram pressure around MW-mass hosts.

 

A variety of observational campaigns seek to test dark matter models by measuring dark matter subhaloes at low masses. Despite their predicted lack of stars, these subhaloes may be detectable through gravitational lensing or via their gravitational perturbations on stellar streams. To set measurable expectations for subhalo populations within Lambda cold dark matter, we examine 11 Milky Way (MW)-mass haloes from the FIRE-2 baryonic simulations, quantifying the counts and orbital fluxes for subhaloes with properties relevant to stellar stream interactions: masses down to $10^{6}\, \text{M}_\odot$, distances ≲50 kpc of the galactic centre, across z = 0 − 1 (tlookback = 0–8 Gyr). We provide fits to our results and their dependence on subhalo mass, distance, and lookback time, for use in (semi)analytical models. A typical MW-mass halo contains ≈16 subhaloes $\gt 10^{7}\, \text{M}_\odot$ (≈1 subhalo $\gt 10^{8}\, \text{M}_\odot$) within 50 kpc at z ≈ 0. We compare our results with dark matter-only versions of the same simulations: because they lack a central galaxy potential, they overpredict subhalo counts by 2–10×, more so at smaller distances. Subhalo counts around a given MW-mass galaxy declined over time, being ≈10× higher at z = 1 than at z ≈ 0. Subhaloes have nearly isotropic orbital velocity distributions at z ≈ 0. Across our simulations, we also identified 4 analogues of Large Magellanic Cloud satellite passages; these analogues enhance subhalo counts by 1.4–2.1 times, significantly increasing the expected subhalo population around the MW today. Our results imply an interaction rate of ∼5 per Gyr for a stream like GD-1, sufficient to make subhalo–stream interactions a promising method of measuring dark subhaloes.

 

The orbits of satellite galaxies encode rich information about their histories. We investigate the orbital dynamics and histories of satellite galaxies around Milky Way (MW)-mass host galaxies using the FIRE-2 cosmological simulations, which, as previous works have shown, produce satellite mass functions and spatial distributions that broadly agree with observations. We first examine trends in orbital dynamics at z = 0, including total velocity, specific angular momentum, and specific total energy: the time of infall into the MW-mass halo primarily determines these orbital properties. We then examine orbital histories, focusing on the lookback time of first infall into a host halo and pericentre distances, times, and counts. Roughly 37 per cent of galaxies with $M_{\rm star}\lesssim 10^7\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ were ‘pre-processed’ as a satellite in a lower-mass group, typically $\approx 2.7\, {\rm Gyr}$ before falling into the MW-mass halo. Half of all satellites at z = 0 experienced multiple pericentres about their MW-mass host. Remarkably, for most (67 per cent) of these satellites, their most recent pericentre was not their minimum pericentre: the minimum typically was ∼40 per cent smaller and occurred $\sim 6\, {\rm Gyr}$ earlier. These satellites with growing pericentres appear to have multiple origins: for about half, their specific angular momentum gradually increased over time, while for the other half, most rapidly increased near their first apocentre, suggesting that a combination of a time-dependent MW-mass halo potential and dynamical perturbations in the outer halo caused these satellites’ pericentres to grow. Our results highlight the limitations of idealized, static orbit modelling, especially for pericentre histories.

 

We perform cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to study the formation of proto-globular cluster candidates in progenitors of present-day dwarf galaxies $(M_{\rm vir} \approx 10^{10}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ at z = 0) as part of the ‘Feedback in Realistic Environment’ (FIRE) project. Compact (r1/2 < 30 pc), relatively massive (0.5 × 105 ≲ M⋆/M⊙ ≲ 5 × 105), self-bound stellar clusters form at 11 ≳ z ≳ 5 in progenitors with $M_{\rm vir} \approx 10^9\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$. Cluster formation is triggered when at least $10^7\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ of dense, turbulent gas reaches $\Sigma _{\rm gas} \approx 10^4\, {\rm M}_\odot \, {\rm pc}^{-2}$ as a result of the compressive effects of supernova feedback or from cloud–cloud collisions. The clusters can survive for $2-3\, {\rm Gyr}$; absent numerical effects, they could possibly survive substantially longer, perhaps to z = 0. The longest lived clusters are those that form at significant distance – several hundreds of pc – from their host galaxy. We therefore predict that globular clusters forming in progenitors of present-day dwarf galaxies will be offset from any pre-existing stars within their host dark matter haloes as opposed to deeply embedded within a well-defined galaxy. Properties of the nascent clusters are consistent with observations of some of the faintest and most compact high-redshift sources in Hubble Space Telescope lensing fields and are at the edge of what will be detectable as point sources in deep imaging of non-lensed fields with JWST. By contrast, the star clusters’ host galaxies will remain undetectable.

 

We investigate whether the considerable diversity in the satellite populations of nearby Milky Way (MW)-mass galaxies is connected with the diversity in their host’s merger histories. Analyzing eight nearby galaxies with extensive observations of their satellite populations and stellar halos, we characterize each galaxy’s merger history using the metric of its most dominant merger,M_⋆,Dom, defined as the greater of either its total accreted stellar mass or most massive current satellite. We find an unexpectedly tight relationship between these galaxies’ number ofM_V< − 9 satellites within 150 kpc (N_Sat) andM_⋆,Dom. This relationship remains even after accounting for differences in galaxy mass. Using the star formation and orbital histories of satellites around the MW and M81, we demonstrate that both likely evolved along theM_⋆,Dom–N_Satrelation during their current dominant mergers with the Large Magellanic Cloud and M82, respectively. We investigate the presence of this relation in galaxy formation models, including using the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) simulations to directly compare to the observations. We find no relation betweenM_⋆,DomandN_Satin FIRE, and a universally large scatter inN_SatwithM_⋆,Domacross simulations—in direct contrast with the tightness of the empirical relation. This acute difference in the observed and predicted scaling relation between two fundamental galaxy properties signals that current simulations do not sufficiently reproduce diverse merger histories and their effects on satellite populations. Explaining the emergence of this relation is therefore essential for obtaining a complete understanding of galaxy formation.

 

Abstract We describe a public data release of the FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulations of galaxy formation (available at http://flathub.flatironinstitute.org/fire ) from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. FIRE-2 simulations achieve parsec-scale resolution to explicitly model the multiphase interstellar medium while implementing direct models for stellar evolution and feedback, including stellar winds, core-collapse and Type Ia supernovae, radiation pressure, photoionization, and photoelectric heating. We release complete snapshots from three suites of simulations. The first comprises 20 simulations that zoom in on 14 Milky Way (MW)–mass galaxies, five SMC/LMC-mass galaxies, and four lower-mass galaxies including one ultrafaint; we release 39 snapshots across z = 0–10. The second comprises four massive galaxies, with 19 snapshots across z = 1–10. Finally, a high-redshift suite comprises 22 simulations, with 11 snapshots across z = 5–10. Each simulation also includes dozens of resolved lower-mass (satellite) galaxies in its zoom-in region. Snapshots include all stored properties for all dark matter, gas, and star particles, including 11 elemental abundances for stars and gas, and formation times (ages) of star particles. We also release accompanying (sub)halo catalogs, which include galaxy properties and member star particles. For the simulations to z = 0, including all MW-mass galaxies, we release the formation coordinates and an “ex situ” flag for all star particles, pointers to track particles across snapshots, catalogs of stellar streams, and multipole basis expansions for the halo mass distributions. We describe publicly available python packages for reading and analyzing these simulations. 

The star formation and gas content of satellite galaxies around the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) are depleted relative to more isolated galaxies in the Local Group (LG) at fixed stellar mass. We explore the environmental regulation of gas content and quenching of star formation in z = 0 galaxies at $M_{*}=10^{5\!-\!10}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$ around 14 MW-mass hosts from the Feedback In Realistic Environments 2 (FIRE-2) simulations. Lower mass satellites ($M_{*}\lesssim 10^7\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) are mostly quiescent and higher mass satellites ($M_{*}\gtrsim 10^8\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) are mostly star forming, with intermediate-mass satellites ($M_{*}\approx 10^{7\!-\!8}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) split roughly equally between quiescent and star forming. Hosts with more gas in their circumgalactic medium have a higher quiescent fraction of massive satellites ($M_{*}=10^{8\!-\!9}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$). We find no significant dependence on isolated versus paired (LG-like) host environments, and the quiescent fractions of satellites around MW-mass and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)-mass hosts from the FIRE-2 simulations are remarkably similar. Environmental effects that lead to quenching can also occur as pre-processing in low-mass groups prior to MW infall. Lower mass satellites typically quenched before MW infall as central galaxies or rapidly during infall into a low-mass group or a MW-mass galaxy. Most intermediate- to high-mass quiescent satellites have experienced ≥1–2 pericentre passages (≈2.5–5 Gyr) within a MW-mass halo. Most galaxies with $M_{*}\gtrsim 10^{6.5}\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$ did not quench before falling into a host, indicating a possible upper mass limit for isolated quenching. The simulations reproduce the average trend in the LG quiescent fraction across the full range of satellite stellar masses. Though the simulations are consistent with the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) survey’s quiescent fraction at $M_{*}\gtrsim 10^8\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$, they do not generally reproduce SAGA’s turnover at lower masses.