Exploring Population III Stars through Cosmological Simulations

Abstract

Population III stars are considered to be the earliest generation of stars formed in the universe. By studying their formation process, we can better understand the structure of the early universe and the subsequent formation process of galaxies. In order to effectively address the practical difficulty that Population III stars are not easily observed directly, cosmological numerical simulations have become a major method for understanding their formation process. In this paper, the cosmological simulation methods for Population III stars are discussed in detail. The main body of the paper primarily introduces the SMUGGLE model used for calculating star formation and stellar feedback. The remaining sections mainly discuss the FOF and SUBFIND-HBT methods used for dark matter halo and galaxy structure detection. On this basis, combined with the corresponding program flowcharts, this paper explains the roles of these methods in analyzing the structure of the early universe and the formation of Population III stars. Through the systematic organization and summary of the relevant simulation methods, the application of numerical simulations in the early universe and galaxy formation can be better understood.