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

News

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Attia et al. (2021) accepted for publication

“Cosmological Magnetogenesis: The Biermann battery during the Epoch of Reionization” proposes a new numerical scheme to model the generation of magnetic fields via the Biermann battery effect — currents generated by misaligned gradients in the electron pressure and density. The new numerical scheme is tested in a SPHINX volume and simulation setup. As expected, a …

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Garel et al. (2021) accepted for publication

  A new SPHINX paper, “Lyman-𝛼 as a tracer of cosmic reionisation in the SPHINX radiation-hydrodynamics cosmological simulation” by Thibault Garel et al. has been accepted for publication in MNRAS. The paper addresses the question of whether the increase in Lyman-alpha (Lya) emitters with decreasing redshift is due to an evolution in galaxy properties or …

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SPHINX papers

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

Lyman-α as a tracer of cosmic reionisation in the SPHINX radiation-hydrodynamics cosmological simulation
T Garel,  J Blaizot,  J Rosdahl,  L Michel-Dansac,  M Haehnelt,  H Katz,  T Kimm,  A Verhamme
MNRAS (2021)  —  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
Submitted to MNRAS (2021)  —  ADS —  arXiv:2102.09535

Animations

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.

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.

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).


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).

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.

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

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

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

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

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