Dianoga simulations of galaxy clusters and groups: Properties of the baryonic components

Abstract: We introduce the Dianoga set of cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters and groups, specifically aimed at studying the impact of the implementation of AGN feedback and star formation. Using the OpenGadget3 code, we carry out simulations of 28 regions centred on massive galaxy clusters, and of a cosmological box. This generates a sample of 293 halos with M_{200}> 1.5 x 10^{13} M_{\odot}. Parameters of AGN feedback in the reference implementation were minimally calibrated exclusively to match the local relation between SMBH masses and stellar masses of host galaxies. Simulations are compared to observed galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF), stellar mass fraction in clusters and groups, BCG masses, scaling relations between ICM/IGM properties and profiles of their thermodynamical properties. In the appendix, we show how results vary as we modify the reference feedback model in six alternative configurations. Our reference model predicts a GSMF in general agreement with observations, albeit overestimated in the high end. BCG stellar masses and mass fractions are higher than observed in massive clusters, while being closer to observations for groups. Predicted properties of the ICM/IGM are in general agreement with observations, with the core regions of simulated clusters having entropy and temperature profiles that are slightly less "cool-cored" than observed. A comparison with other implementations of AGN feedback highlights that models including thermal evaporation of the sub-resolution interstellar medium succeed to bring BCG masses and stellar mass fractions closer to observation, and to increase the cool-coreness of simulated clusters. Our results demonstrate that the details of the interface between AGN energy injection and the sub-resolution interstellar medium model are at least as critical as the total feedback efficiency itself.

• The paper presents 28 high-resolution cosmological zoom-in regions containing 293 halos, including 74 clusters above 10¹⁴ M☉, with 25 times better mass resolution than the original Dianoga simulations.
• The paper finds that minimally calibrated thermal AGN feedback reproduces global ICM relations, gas fractions, the Y_X mass proxy, and low-mass galaxy populations but overproduces massive BCGs and stellar mass by up to a factor of three in the most massive clusters.
• The paper shows that allowing AGN heating to evaporate cold gas in multiphase star-forming particles improves BCG masses, black-hole growth, and cool-core entropy profiles, demonstrating that AGN–ISM coupling can matter as much as total feedback efficiency.

The Dianoga simulations presented in this work constitute a high-resolution set of cosmological hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations of galaxy clusters and groups, carried out with the OpenGadget3 TreePM-SPH code, and complemented by a cosmological box of about 50 $h^{-1}$ cMpc simulated at identical resolution. The sample comprises 28 Lagrangian regions containing 293 halos with $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$, including 74 clusters above $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ and 23 above $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$. The mass resolution ($$m_{\rm gas}\simeq 6.24\times 10^6\,h^{-1}\mathrm{M_\odot}$$) improves by a factor of 25 over the original Dianoga set of Rasia et al. (2015), placing it at a level comparable to TNG-Clusters. The central methodological choice is deliberately minimal calibration: AGN feedback parameters are tuned exclusively to reproduce the local $M_{\rm BH}$–$M_*$ relation of field galaxies, while all group- and cluster-scale observables — the GSMF, BCG masses, stellar mass fractions, ICM scaling relations and thermodynamical profiles — are treated as genuine predictions. Seven AGN feedback variants probe how specific implementation choices affect these predictions.

Simulation design and sub-grid physics

The zoom-in regions are drawn from a $1\,h^{-1}$ cGpc parent box assuming $\Omega_m=0.24$, $\sigma_8=0.8$, with initial conditions generated via ZIC. Star formation follows the Springel & Hernquist (SH03) multi-phase ISM model with a density threshold of $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$0, SN-driven winds at 350 km/s with mass loading twice the SFR, and full chemical enrichment. SMBHs are seeded in stellar FoF groups exceeding $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$1, accrete via an Eddington-limited Bondi-like rate with distinct cold/hot boost factors $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$2, and inject thermal energy with efficiency $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$3 (0.05 or 0.1), boosted by a factor of 4 in the quiescent radio-mode regime. A key technical ingredient is the sub-resolution dynamical friction model of Damiano et al., which keeps BHs well centered; without it, two-body scattering would produce spurious wandering BHs.

The seven model variants vary $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$4, the boost factors, the Eddington limit, and — most importantly — whether AGN energy can evaporate the cold phase within star-forming multi-phase particles (models M4–M6). In the reference implementation, multi-phase particles receiving AGN heating rapidly decay back onto the effective equation of state, effectively losing the injected energy; the evaporation scheme forces such particles out of the multi-phase stage until they cool below a threshold factor $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$5 times the effective internal energy.

Stellar content: GSMF and BCGs

The predicted field GSMF agrees with COSMOS/UltraVISTA and COSMOS2020 measurements below $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$6 but overproduces the number density of more massive galaxies for both M1 and M2. Since this excess is insensitive to $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$7, it cannot be remedied by re-tuning the formal efficiency parameter. Notably, the cluster GSMF reproduces the low-mass steepening reported observationally down to $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$8, indicating that SN-driven stellar feedback operates at the correct efficiency in low-mass galaxies even though AGN feedback fails at the massive end.

BCG stellar masses are systematically overpredicted in the most massive clusters while approaching observations at the group scale, and the total stellar mass fraction within $M_{200}\ge 1.5\times 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$9 exceeds observations by roughly a factor of three at $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$0. The authors identify this as a shared limitation of comparable-resolution simulations (Hydrangea, IllustrisTNG, FABLE, TNG-Clusters). A striking result is the contrast with the same initial conditions at 25× coarser resolution, where BCG masses agreed with data: increasing resolution breaks the self-regulation between cooling and feedback in a way that cannot be compensated by re-tuning parameters. Appendix analysis traces the pathological cases to runaway accretion episodes: minor mergers drive core inflows that push hot gas above the star-formation threshold, triggering starbursts exceeding $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$1 and Eddington-limited BH growth, with four BCGs reaching $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$2 and some BHs exceeding $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$3. This failure mode is intrinsic to purely thermal feedback acting on SH03 multi-phase particles whose cooling time falls below the AGN heating timescale.

ICM scaling relations

Global ICM properties fare considerably better. Gas fractions agree with the observational scatter for massive clusters and reproduce the low values at the group scale recently inferred from eROSITA stacking and kSZ measurements with ACT/DESI. The $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$4–$10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$5 relation agrees with the eRASS best fit, with the caveat that temperatures of systems with $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$6 keV should be treated cautiously given the exclusion of particles below 0.3 keV. Simulated clusters appear slightly cooler than observed at fixed mass in the $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$7–$10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$8 relation, but the discrepancy is comparable to the expected 15–20 per cent hydrostatic mass bias, so its significance remains uncertain. Most notably, the tensions in gas mass and temperature combine to yield excellent agreement on the $10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$9–$10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$0 relation, reinforcing the robustness of $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$1 as a mass proxy largely insensitive to baryonic physics modelling.

Thermodynamical profiles and the cool-core problem

Outside $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$2, simulated electron density, temperature, entropy and pressure profiles match X-COP measurements and approach the self-similar slope $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$3. Within the cores, however, entropy profiles exhibit nearly flat isentropic cores rather than the steadily declining profiles characteristic of observed cool cores — a factor-of-two entropy offset in the innermost regions. Pressure profiles nonetheless agree well, consistent with pressure being governed primarily by the gravitational potential. The authors interpret the high central entropy as plausibly another manifestation of inefficient cooling regulation, although they concede that distinguishing excessive heating from selective removal of low-entropy gas by cooling would require dedicated analysis. This result contradicts the earlier finding from the coarser-resolution version of the same initial conditions, and aligns instead with TNG-Clusters and FABLE, whereas lower-resolution suites (The Three Hundred, Magneticum, Flamingo) do produce realistic cool cores. The emerging picture is that self-regulation degrades as resolution increases, independent of whether feedback is thermal, kinetic, or bubble-like.

Sensitivity to the feedback implementation

The appendix experiments carry the paper's strongest claim: models M4–M6, which allow AGN energy to evaporate the cold phase of star-forming particles, simultaneously reduce BCG masses and stellar mass fractions toward observed levels, suppress overmassive BHs, and produce more cool-cored entropy profiles — almost independently of $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$4. By contrast, varying $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$5 alone, lowering the Bondi boost factors, or removing the Eddington limit produces little change in BCG masses or stellar fractions (though super-Eddington accretion in M7 partially alleviates BCG overmasses through enhanced early feedback). Entropy profiles prove highly sensitive diagnostics: in one cluster, halving $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$6 converts a strong cool core into a markedly non-cool-core system, underscoring the fragility of the cooling-feedback balance. The conclusion is explicit: the interface between AGN energy injection and the sub-resolution ISM model is at least as critical as the total feedback efficiency itself.

Limitations and open questions

Several caveats qualify these results. The cold-phase evaporation scheme is acknowledged as experimental: it has not undergone systematic calibration, and its robustness across the full cluster sample remains untested. Comparisons of stellar masses use fixed apertures rather than mock observations, and the authors note that observational effects could non-negligibly affect the high-mass GSMF tension. The comparison of stellar mass fractions adopts a conservative inclusion of all stars within $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$7, and uncertainties in observed BCG masses and low-surface-brightness diffuse components complicate quantitative assessment of the tension. Whether the central entropy excess reflects overheating or overcooling is left unresolved. The paper also leaves open the role of environment in the upscattering of group-scale stellar fractions near massive clusters, deferred to future work, and identifies kinetic jet feedback with spin-driven directionality, cooling-regulated accretion models replacing the Bondi criterion, and explicitly multiphase ISM treatments with H$10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$8 formation as necessary next steps.

Conclusion

This work demonstrates that a minimally calibrated thermal AGN feedback model at high resolution reproduces global ICM scaling relations, the $10^{15}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$9 mass proxy, and the low-mass GSMF, while failing to regulate star formation in the most massive BCGs and to sustain realistic cool cores. The decisive diagnostic contribution is the controlled comparison across seven feedback implementations, showing that the coupling between AGN heating and the sub-resolution multiphase ISM — specifically, allowing evaporation of the cold phase — matters at least as much as the feedback energetics. The results frame a concrete open question for simulation campaigns: whether self-regulation of the cooling-feedback loop can be maintained at high numerical resolution only through physically motivated modifications of the AGN–ISM interface, or whether fundamentally different feedback channels are required.