MISTRAL: a model for AGN winds from radiatively efficient accretion in cosmological simulations

Abstract

Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is crucial for regulating galaxy evolution. Motivated by observations of broad absorption line winds from rapidly accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs), we introduce the mistral AGN feedback model, implemented in the arepo code. mistral comes in two versions: continuous radial (mistral-continuous) and stochastic bipolar momentum deposition (mistral-stochastic). Using the framework of the IllustrisTNG simulations, we explore the effect of mistral on BH and galaxy properties, through an idealized Milky Way-mass galaxy and cosmological zoom simulations run down to ⁠. Unlike standard thermal AGN feedback prescriptions, mistral generates galaxy-scale winds that mimic outflows driven by BH accretion. mistral-continuous produces short-lived galactic fountains, and is inefficient at regulating the growth of massive galaxies at ⁠. In contrast, mistral-stochastic efficiently suppresses star formation in massive galaxies, reproduces the empirical stellar-to-halo mass relation, and yields a consistent trend of BH-stellar mass evolution. By supporting large-scale outflows while simultaneously preventing gas inflows, mistral-stochastic additionally regulates the cold and hot gas fractions at both galaxy and halo scales. mistral-stochastic therefore works self-consistently across the halo mass range explored ⁠, without adopting an SMBH-mass-dependent AGN feedback scheme such as the one used in IllustrisTNG. Our model is a promising tool for predicting the impact of AGN winds on galaxy evolution, and interpreting the growing population of high-redshift galaxies and quasars observed by James Webb Space Telescope. This work is part of the ‘Learning the Universe’ collaboration, which aims to infer the physical processes governing the evolution of the Universe.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Publication Date

10-2025

Publication Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1464

Keywords

Methods: Numerical, Galaxies: Active, Galaxies: Evolution, Galaxies: Formation

Language

English

Format

text

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