2022ApJ...935..124M

We have developed a new numerical algorithm to study the joint evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM) in a cosmological context, with the specific goal of studying the deposition and dispersion of metals in the IGM. This algorithm combines a standard gasdynamical algorithm to simulate the evolution of the IGM, a semi-analytical model to describe the evolution of galaxies, and prescriptions for galaxy formation, accretion, mergers, and tidal disruption. The main goal in designing this algorithm was performance. In its current version, the algorithm can simulate the evolution of cosmological volumes containing thousands of galaxies in a few days, using between 12 and 32 processors. This algorithm is particularly suited for parameter surveys (both numerical parameters and physical parameters) since a large number of simulations can be completed in a fairly short amount of time. Furthermore, the algorithm provides a platform for the development and testing of new treatments of subgrid physics, which could then be implemented into other algorithms. In this paper, we describe the algorithm and present, for illustration, two simulations of the evolution of a (20 Mpc)³ cosmological volume containing ∼1200 galaxies at z = 0.