Structural and photometric properties of barred galaxies from the Auriga
  cosmological simulations
  In this work we analyse the structural and photometric properties of 21
barred simulated galaxies from the Auriga Project. These consist of Milky
Way-mass magneto-hydrodynamical simulations in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmological
context. In order to compare with observations, we generate synthetic SDSS-like
broad-band images from the numerical data at z = 0 with different inclinations
(from face-on to edge-on). Ellipse fits are used to determine the bar lengths,
and 2D bulge/disc/bar decompositions with galfit are also performed, modelling
the bar component with the modified Ferrer profile. We find a wide range of bar
sizes and luminosities in the sample, and their structural parameters are in
good agreement with the observations. All bulges present low S\'ersic indexes,
and are classified as pseudobulges. In regard to the discs, the same breaks in
the surface brightness profiles observed in real galaxies are found, and the
radii at which these take place are in agreement with the observations. Also,
from edge-on unsharp-masked images at z = 0, boxy or peanut-shaped (B/P)
structures are clearly identified in the inner part of 4 bars, and also 2 more
bars are found in buckling phase. The sizes of the B/P match fairly well with
those obtained from observations. We thus conclude that the observed
photometric and structural properties of galaxies with bars, which are the main
drivers of secular evolution, can be developed in present state-of-the-art
$\Lambda$CDM cosmological simulations.
