Topological data analysis reveals differences between simulated galaxies and dark matter haloes

Abstract

We use topological summaries based on Betti curves to characterize the large-scale spatial distribution of simulated dark matter haloes and galaxies. Using the IllustrisTNG and CAMELS-SAM simulations, we show that the topology of the galaxy distribution is significantly different from the topology of the dark matter halo distribution. Further, there are significant differences between the distributions of star-forming and quiescent galaxies. These topological differences are broadly consistent across all simulations, while at the same time there are noticeable differences when comparing between different models. Finally, using the CAMELS-SAM simulations, we show that the topology of the quiescent galaxies, in particular, depends strongly on the amount of supernova feedback. These results suggest that topological summary statistics could be used to help better understand the processes of galaxy formation and evolution.