We present a new, semi-analytical model describing the evolution of dark matter subhaloes. The model uses merger trees constructed using the method of Parkinson et al. (2008) to describe the masses and redshifts of subhaloes at accretion, which are subsequently evolved using a simple model for the orbit-averaged mass loss rates. The model is extremely fast, treats subhaloes of all orders, accounts for scatter in orbital properties and halo concentrations, and uses a simple recipe to convert subhalo mass to maximum circular velocity. The model accurately reproduces the average subhalo mass and velocity functions in numerical simulations. The inferred subhalo mass loss rates imply that an average dark matter subhalo loses in excess of 80 percent of its infall mass during its first radial orbit within the host halo. We demonstrate that the total mass fraction in subhaloes is tightly correlated with the `dynamical age of the host halo, defined as the number of halo dynamical times that have elapsed since its formation. Using this relation, we present universal fitting functions for the evolved and unevolved subhalo mass and velocity functions that are valid for any host halo mass, at any redshift, and for any {Lambda}CDM cosmology.
Multiresolution analysis is applied to the problem of halo identification in cosmological N-body simulations. The procedure makes use of a discrete wavelet transform known as the algorithme a trous and segmentation analysis. It has the ability to find subhalos in the dense regions of a parent halo and can discern the multiple levels of substructure expected in the hierarchical clustering scenario. As an illustration, a 500,000 particle dark matter halo is analyzed and over 600 subhalos are found. Statistical properties of the subhalo population are discussed.
We present a new algorithm for identifying the substructure within simulated dark matter haloes. The method is an extension of that proposed by Tormen et al. (2004) and Giocoli et al. (2008a), which identifies a subhalo as a group of self-bound particles that prior to being accreted by the main progenitor of the host halo belonged to one and the same progenitor halo (hereafter satellite). However, this definition does not account for the fact that these satellite haloes themselves may also have substructure, which thus gives rise to sub-subhaloes, etc. Our new algorithm identifies substructures at all levels of this hierarchy, and we use it to determine the mass function of all substructure (counting sub-haloes, sub-subhaloes, etc.). On average, haloes which formed more recently tend to have a larger mass fraction in substructure and to be less concentrated than average haloes of the same mass. We provide quantitative fits to these correlations. Even though our algorithm is very different from that of Gao et al. (2004), we too find that the subhalo mass function per unit mass at redshift z = 0 is universal. This universality extends to any redshift only if one accounts for the fact that host haloes of a given mass are less concentrated at higher redshifts, and concentration and substructure abundance are anti-correlated. This universality allows a simple parametrization of the subhalo mass function integrated over all host halo masses, at any given time. We provide analytic fits to this function which should be useful in halo model analyses which equate galaxies with halo substructure when interpreting clustering in large sky surveys. Finally, we discuss systematic differences in the subhalo mass function that arise from different definitions of (host) halo mass.
Using the self-consistent modeling of the conditional stellar mass functions across cosmic time by Yang et al. (2012), we make model predictions for the star formation histories (SFHs) of {it central} galaxies in halos of different masses. The model requires the following two key ingredients: (i) mass assembly histories of central and satellite galaxies, and (ii) local observational constraints of the star formation rates of central galaxies as function of halo mass. We obtain a universal fitting formula that describes the (median) SFH of central galaxies as function of halo mass, galaxy stellar mass and redshift. We use this model to make predictions for various aspects of the star formation rates of central galaxies across cosmic time. Our main findings are the following. (1) The specific star formation rate (SSFR) at high $z$ increases rapidly with increasing redshift [$propto (1+z)^{2.5}$] for halos of a given mass and only slowly with halo mass ($propto M_h^{0.12}$) at a given $z$, in almost perfect agreement with the specific mass accretion rate of dark matter halos. (2) The ratio between the star formation rate (SFR) in the main-branch progenitor and the final stellar mass of a galaxy peaks roughly at a constant value, $sim 10^{-9.3} h^2 {rm yr}^{-1}$, independent of halo mass or the final stellar mass of the galaxy. However, the redshift at which the SFR peaks increases rapidly with halo mass. (3) More than half of the stars in the present-day Universe were formed in halos with $10^{11.1}msunh < M_h < 10^{12.3}msunh$ in the redshift range $0.4 < z < 1.9$. (4) ... [abridged]