A physical model for cosmological simulations of galaxy formation:
  multi-epoch validation
  We present a multi-epoch analysis of the galaxy populations formed within the
cosmological hydrodynamical simulations presented in Vogelsberger et al.
(2013). These simulations explore the performance of a recently implemented
feedback model which includes primordial and metal line radiative cooling with
self-shielding corrections; stellar evolution with associated mass loss and
chemical enrichment; feedback by stellar winds; black hole seeding, growth and
merging; and AGN quasar- and radio-mode heating with a phenomenological
prescription for AGN electro-magnetic feedback. We illustrate the impact of the
model parameter choices on the resulting simulated galaxy population properties
at high and intermediate redshifts. We demonstrate that our scheme is capable
of producing galaxy populations that broadly reproduce the observed galaxy
stellar mass function extending from redshift z=0 to z=3. We also characterise
the evolving galactic B-band luminosity function, stellar mass to halo mass
ratio, star formation main sequence, Tully-Fisher relation, and gas-phase
mass-metallicity relation and confront them against recent observational
estimates. This detailed comparison allows us to validate elements of our
feedback model, while also identifying areas of tension that will be addressed
in future work.
