Scalability of Hydrodynamic Simulations

Many hydrodynamic processes can be studied in a way that is scalable over a vastly relevant physical parameter space. We systematically examine this scalability, which has so far only briefly discussed in astrophysical literature. We show how the scalability is limited by various constraints imposed by physical processes and initial conditions. Using supernova remnants in different environments and evolutionary phases as application examples, we demonstrate the use of the scaling as a powerful tool to explore the interdependence among relevant parameters, based on a minimum set of simulations. In particular, we devise a scaling scheme that can be used to adaptively generate numerous seed remnants and plant them into 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the supernova-dominated interstellar medium.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, submitted to MNRAS; comments are welcom

Missing Iron Problem and Type Ia Supernova Enrichment of Hot Gas in Galactic Spheroids

Type Ia supernovae (Ia SNe) provide a rich source of iron for hot gas in galactic stellar spheroids. However, the expected super-solar iron abundance of the hot gas is not observed. Instead, X-ray observations often show decreasing iron abundance toward galactic central regions, where the Ia SN enrichment is expected to be the highest. We examine the cause of this missing iron problem by studying the enrichment process and its effect on X-ray abundance measurements of the hot gas. The evolution of Ia SN iron ejecta is simulated in the context of galaxy-wide hot gas outflows, in both supersonic and subsonic cases, as may be expected for hot gas in galactic bulges or elliptical galaxies of intermediate masses. SN reverse-shock heated iron ejecta is typically found to have a very high temperature and low density, hence producing little X-ray emission. Such hot ejecta, driven by its large buoyancy, can quickly reach a substantially higher outward velocity than the ambient medium, which is dominated by mass loss from evolved stars. The ejecta is gradually and dynamically mixed with the medium at large galactic radii. The ejecta is also slowly diluted and cooled by {\sl insitu} mass injection from evolved stars. These processes together naturally result in the observed positive gradient in the average radial iron abundance distribution of the hot gas, even if mass-weighted. This trend is in addition to the X-ray measurement bias that tends to underestimate the iron abundance for the hot gas with a temperature distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, MNRAS in pres

Type-Ia Supernova-driven Galactic Bulge Wind

Stellar feedback in galactic bulges plays an essential role in shaping the evolution of galaxies. To quantify this role and facilitate comparisons with X-ray observations, we conduct 3D hydrodynamical simulations with the adaptive mesh refinement code, FLASH, to investigate the physical properties of hot gas inside a galactic bulge, similar to that of our Galaxy or M31. We assume that the dynamical and thermal properties of the hot gas are dominated by mechanical energy input from SNe, primarily Type Ia, and mass injection from evolved stars as well as iron enrichment from SNe. We study the bulge-wide outflow as well as the SN heating on scales down to ~4 pc. An embedding scheme that is devised to plant individual SNR seeds, allows to examine, for the first time, the effect of sporadic SNe on the density, temperature, and iron ejecta distribution of the hot gas as well as the resultant X-ray morphology and spectrum. We find that the SNe produce a bulge wind with highly filamentary density structures and patchy ejecta. Compared with a 1D spherical wind model, the non-uniformity of simulated gas density, temperature, and metallicity substantially alters the spectral shape and increases the diffuse X-ray luminosity. The differential emission measure as a function of temperature of the simulated gas exhibits a log-normal distribution, with a peak value much lower than that of the corresponding 1D model. The bulk of the X-ray emission comes from the relatively low temperature and low abundance gas shells associated with SN blastwaves. SN ejecta are not well mixed with the ambient medium, at least in the bulge region. These results, at least partly, account for the apparent lack of evidence for iron enrichment in the soft X-ray-emitting gas in galactic bulges and intermediate-mass elliptical galaxies.[...]Comment: 37 pages, 19 figures, submitted to MNRAS; comments are welcom

Feedback from galactic stellar bulges and hot gaseous haloes of galaxies

We demonstrate that the feedback from stellar bulges can play an essential role in shaping the halo gas of galaxies with substantial bulge components by conducting 1-D hydrodynamical simulations. The feedback model we consider consists of two distinct phases: 1) an early starburst during the bulge formation and 2) a subsequent long-lasting mass and energy injection from stellar winds of low-mass stars and Type Ia SNe. An energetic outward blastwave is initiated by the starburst and is maintained and enhanced by the long-lasting stellar feedback. For a MW-like galactic bulge, this blastwave sweeps up the halo gas in the proto-galaxy and heats up the surrounding medium to a scale much beyond the virial radius of the halo, thus the accretion of the halo hot gas can be completely stopped. In addition, the long-lasting feedback in the later phase powers a galactic bulge wind that is reverse-shocked at a large radius in the presence of surrounding intergalactic medium and hence maintains a hot gaseous halo. As the mass and energy injection decreases with time, the feedback evolves to a subsonic and quasi-stable outflow, which is enough to prevent halo gas from cooling. The two phases of the feedback thus re-enforce each-other's impact on the gas dynamics. The simulation results demonstrate that the stellar bulge feedback may provide a plausible solution to the long-standing problems in understanding the MW type galaxies, such as the "missing stellar feedback" problem and the "over-cooling" problem. The simulations also show that the properties of the hot gas in the subsonic outflow state depend sensitively on the environment and the formation history of the bulge. This dependence and variance may explain the large dispersion in the X-ray to B-band luminosity ratio of the low $L_X/L_B$ Es.Comment: v2, discussions added, accepted for publication in MNRA

Prevalence and risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionThis study aims to explore the risk factors in the progression of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Material and methodsRelevant studies were comprehensively searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase up to March 12. Data extraction was performed. Differences in risk factors were presented as odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). The quality of the included studies was assessed through the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality scale.ResultsThis meta-analysis encompassed 46 studies involving a total of 196,494 patients. The factors most strongly associated with the risk of developing T2DM following GDM were the use of progestin-only contraceptives (odds ratio [OR]: 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00–4.45, P = 0.049), recurrence of GDM (OR: 2.63, 95% CI = 1.88–3.69, P < 0.001), insulin use during pregnancy (OR: 4.35, 95% CI = 3.17–5.96, P < 0.001), pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (OR: 2.97, 95% CI = 2.16–4.07, P < 0.001), BMI after delivery (OR: 4.17, 95% CI = 2.58–6.74, P < 0.001), macrosomia (OR: 3.30, 95% CI = 1.45–7.49, P = 0.04), hypertension (OR: 5.19, 95% CI = 1.31–20.51, P = 0.019), and HbA1c levels (OR: 3.32, 95% CI = 1.81–6.11, P < 0.001). Additionally, age (OR: 1.71, 95% CI = 1.23–2.38, P = 0.001), family history of diabetes (OR: 1.47, 95% CI = 1.27–1.70, P < 0.001), BMI during pregnancy (OR: 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00–1.12, P = 0.056), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (OR: 1.58, 95% CI = 1.36–1.84, P < 0.001), 1-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (OR: 1.38, 95% CI = 1.02–1.87, P = 0.037), and 2-hour OGTT (OR: 1.54, 95% CI = 1.28–1.58, P < 0.001) were identified as moderate-risk factors for the development of T2DM.ConclusionThe systematic review and meta-analysis identified several moderate- to high-risk factors associated with the progression of T2DM in individuals with a history of GDM. These risk factors include the use of progestin-only contraceptives, pre-pregnancy BMI, BMI after delivery, macrosomia, hypertension, persistently elevated levels of HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG), 1-hour and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), age, and family history of diabetes. Our findings serve as evidence for the early prevention and clinical intervention of the progression from GDM to T2DM and offer valuable insights to guide healthcare professionals in formulating customized management and treatment strategies for female patients with diverse forms of GDM.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42024545200

Galactic Bulge Feedback and its Impact on Galaxy Evolution

Galactic bulges of early-type spirals and elliptical galaxies comprise primarily old stars, which account for more than half of the total stellar mass in the local Universe. These stars collectively generate a long-lasting feedback via stellar mass loss and Type Ia supernovae. According to the empirical stellar mass loss and supernova rates, the stellar ejecta can be heated to more than 107 K, forming a very hot, diffuse, and ironrich interstellar medium. Conventionally a strong galactic wind is expected, especially in low- and intermediate-mass early-type galaxies which have a relatively shallow potential well. X-ray observations, however, have revealed that both the temperature and iron abundance of the interstellar medium in such galaxies are unexpectedly low, leading to the so-called “missing feedback” and “missing metal” problems. As an effort to address the above outstanding issues, we have carried out a series of hydrodynamic simulations of galactic bulge feedback on various scales. On galactic halo scales, we demonstrate that the feedback from galactic bulges can play an essential role in the halo gas dynamics and the evolution of their host galaxies. We approximately divide the bulge stellar feedback into two phases: 1) a starbusrtinduced blastwave from the formation of the bulge built up through frequent major mergers at high redshifts and 2) a gradual feedback from long-lived low mass stars. The combination of the two can heat the surrounding gas beyond the virial radius and stop further gas accretion, which naturally produces a baryon deficit around Milky Way-like galaxies and explains the lack of large-scale X-ray halos. On galactic bulge scales, we study the collective 3-dimensional effects of supernovae with their blastwaves resolved. We find that the sporadic explosions of supernovae can produce a wealth of substructures in the diffuse hot gas and significantly affect the spectroscopic properties of the X-ray-emitting gas. The differential emission measure in the temperature space has a broad lognormal-like distribution. Such distribution enhances the X-ray emission at both low and high energy bands. We further show that the SN Ia ejecta is not well-mixed with the ambient medium and the X-ray emission is primarily from the shocked stellar wind materials which in general have low metallicities. These 3-dimensional effects provide a promising explanation to the above “missing feedback” and “missing metal” problems. In addition, we demonstrate that the supernova iron ejecta forms a very hot bubbles, which have relatively larger radial velocities driven by buoyancy, resulting in a smaller iron mass fraction in the bulk outflow. These distinct properties give a natural explanation to the observed positive iron abundance gradient which has been a puzzle for decades.AstronomyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD

Galactic Bulge Feedback and its Impact on Galaxy Evolution

Galactic bulges of early-type spirals and elliptical galaxies comprise primarily old stars, which account for more than half of the total stellar mass in the local Universe. These stars collectively generate a long-lasting feedback via stellar mass loss and Type Ia supernovae. According to the empirical stellar mass loss and supernova rates, the stellar ejecta can be heated to more than 107 K, forming a very hot, diffuse, and ironrich interstellar medium. Conventionally a strong galactic wind is expected, especially in low- and intermediate-mass early-type galaxies which have a relatively shallow potential well. X-ray observations, however, have revealed that both the temperature and iron abundance of the interstellar medium in such galaxies are unexpectedly low, leading to the so-called “missing feedback” and “missing metal” problems. As an effort to address the above outstanding issues, we have carried out a series of hydrodynamic simulations of galactic bulge feedback on various scales. On galactic halo scales, we demonstrate that the feedback from galactic bulges can play an essential role in the halo gas dynamics and the evolution of their host galaxies. We approximately divide the bulge stellar feedback into two phases: 1) a starbusrtinduced blastwave from the formation of the bulge built up through frequent major mergers at high redshifts and 2) a gradual feedback from long-lived low mass stars. The combination of the two can heat the surrounding gas beyond the virial radius and stop further gas accretion, which naturally produces a baryon deficit around Milky Way-like galaxies and explains the lack of large-scale X-ray halos. On galactic bulge scales, we study the collective 3-dimensional effects of supernovae with their blastwaves resolved. We find that the sporadic explosions of supernovae can produce a wealth of substructures in the diffuse hot gas and significantly affect the spectroscopic properties of the X-ray-emitting gas. The differential emission measure in the temperature space has a broad lognormal-like distribution. Such distribution enhances the X-ray emission at both low and high energy bands. We further show that the SN Ia ejecta is not well-mixed with the ambient medium and the X-ray emission is primarily from the shocked stellar wind materials which in general have low metallicities. These 3-dimensional effects provide a promising explanation to the above “missing feedback” and “missing metal” problems. In addition, we demonstrate that the supernova iron ejecta forms a very hot bubbles, which have relatively larger radial velocities driven by buoyancy, resulting in a smaller iron mass fraction in the bulk outflow. These distinct properties give a natural explanation to the observed positive iron abundance gradient which has been a puzzle for decades.AstronomyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD