The SPHINX project

The SPHINX suite of cosmological radiation-hydrodynamical simulations is designed to simultaneously capture large-scale reionization and the escape of ionizing radiation from thousands of resolved galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe. Our volumes resolve haloes down to the atomic cooling limit and model the inter-stellar medium of galaxies with ≈ 10 parsec resolution. The project has numerous goals in improving our understanding of reionization and making predictions for future observations.

Core members of the team are:

• Joakim Rosdahl (PI),  Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon
• Jérémy Blaizot,  CRAL
• Thibault Garel,  Geneva University
• Martin Haehnelt,  Cambridge University
• Harley Katz,  Oxford University
• Taysun Kimm,  Yonsei University
• Sergio Martin-Alvarez, Cambridge University
• Léo Michel-Dansac,  CRAL
• Pierre Ocvirk,  Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg
• Romain Teyssier,  University of Zürich

We gratefully acknowledge the following entities for making the SPHINX project possible:

• PRACE, for providing 100 million cpu-hours for running SPHINX simulations on the Supermuc and Juwels supercomputers.
• GENCI, for providing tens of millions of cpu-hours to run SPHINX simulations on the Occigen and Joliot Curie supercomputers.
• CSAA, for financial support to acquire SPHINX simulation storage
• PNCG, for sponsoring collaboration workshops.
• CNRS and NRF, for providing PRC travel grants between Europe and South Korea to strengthen our collaboration and add collaborative partners.
• Partenariat Hubert Curien, for providing travel grants to Japanese collaborative partners.
• The Common Computing Facility (CCF) of the LABEX Lyon Institute of Origins, for providing acess to machines for analysing and post-processing SPHINX outputs

The SPHINX cosmological simulations of the first billion years: the impact of binary stars on reionization
J Rosdahl, H Katz, J Blaizot, T Kimm, L Michel-Dansac, T Garel, M Haehnelt, P Ocvirk, R Teyssier
MNRAS (2018)  —  ADS —  arXiv:1801.07259

How to quench a dwarf galaxy: The impact of inhomogeneous reionization on dwarf galaxies and cosmic filaments
H Katz, M Ramsoy, J Rosdahl, T Kimm, J Blaizot, M Haehnelt, L Michel-Dansac, T Garel, C Laigle, J Devriendt, A Slyz
MNRAS (2020)  —  ADS —  arXiv:1905:11414

Cosmological Magnetogenesis: The Biermann Battery during the Epoch of Reionization
O Attia, R Teyssier, H Katz, T Kimm, S Martin-Alvarez, P Ocvirk, J Rosdahl
MNRAS (2021)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2102.09535

Introducing SPHINX-MHD: The Impact of Primordial Magnetic Fields on the First Galaxies, Reionization, and the Global 21cm Signal
H Katz, S Martin-Alvarez, J Rosdahl, T Kimm, J Blaizot, M Haehnelt, L Michel-Dansac, T Garel, J Oñorbe, J Devriendt, A Slyz, O Attia, R Teyssier
MNRAS (2021)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2102.09535

The Nature of High [OIII]/[CII] Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization: Low Carbon Abundance and a Top-Heavy IMF?
H Katz, J Rosdahl, T Kimm, T Garel, J Blaizot, MG Haehnelt, L Michel-Dansac, S Martin- Alvarez, J Devriendt, A Slyz A, R Teyssier, P Ocvirk, N Laporte N & R Ellis.
MNRAS (2022)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2108.01074

Predicting LyC emission of galaxies using their physical and Lyα emission properties
M Maji, A Verhamme, J Rosdahl, T Garel, J Blaizot, V Mauerhofer, M Pittavino, MV Feser, M Chuniaud, T Kimm, H Katz, & M Haehnelt.
A&A (2022)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2204.02440

Mg II in the JWST Era: a Probe of Lyman Continuum Escape?
H Katz, T Garel, J Rosdahl, V Mauerhofer, T Kimm, J Blaizot, L Michel-Dansac, J Devriendt, A Slyz A,
& M Haehnelt.
MNRAS (2022)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2205.11534

LyC escape from SPHINX galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization
J Rosdahl, J Blaizot, H Katz, T Kimm, T Garel, MHaehnelt, LC Keating, S Martin-Alvarez, L Michel-Dansac, & P Ocvirk.
MNRAS (2022)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2207.03232

Two modes of LyC escape from bursty star formation: implications for [C II] deficits and the sources of reionization
H Katz, A Saxena, J Rosdahl, T Kimm, J Blaizot, T Garel, L Michel-Dansac, M Haehnelt, RS Ellis, L Penterrici, J Devriendt, & A Slyz.
MNRAS (2023)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2210.01956

The Physics of Indirect Estimators of Lyman Continuum Escape and their Application to High-Redshift JWST Galaxies
N Choustikov, H Katz, A Saxena, AJ Cameron, J Devriendt, A Slyz, J Rosdahl, J Blaizot, & L Michel-Dansac.
MNRAS (2024) —  ADS — arXiv:2304.08526

The SPHINX public data release: forward modelling high-redshift JWST observations with cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations
H Katz, J Rosdahl, T Kimm, J Blaizot, N Choustikov, M Farcy, T Garel, M Haehnelt, L Michel-Dansac, & P Ocvirk.
The Open Journal of Astrophysics (2023) — ADS —  arXiv:2309.03269

The Great Escape: Understanding the Connection Between Lyman alpha Emission and LyC Escape in Simulated JWST Analogues
N Choustikov, H Katz, A Saxena, T Garel, J Devriendt, A Slyz, T Kimm, J Blaizot, & J Rosdahl.
MNRAS (2024) — ADS —  arXiv:2401.09667

 

 

We grant non-exclusive world/all language rights to republish the content below and all future versions thereof, for print, digital and audio formats, including media for print-disabled readers, as well as any print or online advertising and promotional materials. We request acknowledgement of the source of the material, to the SPHINX collaboration, in accordance with scholarly norms. 

Close-up of a group of SPHINX galaxies (download)
Close-up of an evolving group of galaxies. The neutral hydrogen fraction is shown by a grey color, the gas density is in purple, ionising radiation in yellow-red, and stellar populations in white, all within the same frame.

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SPHINX20 volume (download)
Full rotating volume for 20 cMpc wide volume with binary stars. Clockwise from top left: hydrogen number density, ionising radiation flux, temperature, and neutral gas fraction, all density-weighted.

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Full volume with single stars (download)
Full rotating volume for 10 cMpc wide volume with single stars. Clockwise from top left: hydrogen number density, temperature, ionising radiation flux, and  ionized fraction  (all density-weighted).

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Full volume with binary stars (download)
Full rotating volume for 10 cMpc wide volume with binary stars. Clockwise from top left: hydrogen number density, temperature, ionising radiation flux, and  ionized fraction  (all density-weighted).

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Zoom with binary stars (download)
The animation shows wide (upper row) and close (lower row) zooms around the most massive halo in the run with binary stars.

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Another zoom  (download)
The animation shows wide and close zooms around another massive halo in the run with binary stars.

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Another zoom  (download)
The animation shows wide and close zooms around another massive halo in the run with binary stars.

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Temperature evolution
Movie without legend of temperature evolution of full 5 Mpc volume with binaries.

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Photon flux
Movie without legend of ionizing photon flux in full 5 Mpc volume with binaries.

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Thanks to Pawel Biernacki for developing movie routines for the RAMSES code.