A comparison of black hole growth in galaxy mergers with Gasoline and
  Ramses
  Supermassive black hole dynamics during galaxy mergers is crucial in
determining the rate of black hole mergers and cosmic black hole growth. As
simulations achieve higher resolution, it becomes important to assess whether
the black hole dynamics is influenced by the treatment of the interstellar
medium in different simulation codes. We here compare simulations of black hole
growth in galaxy mergers with two codes: the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
code Gasoline, and the Adaptive Mesh Refinement code Ramses. We seek to
identify predictions of these models that are robust despite differences in
hydrodynamic methods and implementations of sub-grid physics. We find that the
general behavior is consistent between codes. Black hole accretion is minimal
while the galaxies are well-separated (and even as they "fly-by" within 10 kpc
at first pericenter). At late stages, when the galaxies pass within a few kpc,
tidal torques drive nuclear gas inflow that triggers bursts of black hole
accretion accompanied by star formation. We also note quantitative
discrepancies that are model-dependent: our Ramses simulations show less star
formation and black hole growth, and a smoother gas distribution with larger
clumps and filaments, than our Gasoline simulations. We attribute these
differences primarily to the sub-grid models for black hole fueling and
feedback and gas thermodynamics. The main conclusion is that differences exist
quantitatively between codes, and this should be kept in mind when making
comparisons with observations. However, reassuringly, both codes capture the
same dynamical behaviors in terms of triggering of black hole accretion, star
formation, and black hole dynamics.
