The Hestia project: simulations of the Local Group
  We present the Hestia simulation suite: High-resolutions Environmental
Simulations of The Immediate Area, a set of cosmological simulations of the
Local Group. Initial conditions constrained by the observed peculiar velocity
of nearby galaxies are employed to accurately simulate the local cosmography.
Halo pairs that resemble the Local Group are found in low resolutions
constrained, dark matter only simulations, and selected for higher resolution
magneto hydrodynamic simulation using the Arepo code. Baryonic physics follows
the Auriga model of galaxy formation. The simulations contain a high resolution
region of 3-5 Mpc in radius from the Local Group midpoint embedded in the
correct cosmographic landscape. Within this region a simulated Local Group
consisting of a Milky Way and Andromeda like galaxy forms, whose description is
in excellent agreement with observations. The simulated Local Group galaxies
resemble the Milky Way and Andromeda in terms of their halo mass, mass ratio,
stellar disc mass, morphology separation, relative velocity, rotation curves,
bulge-disc morphology, satellite galaxy stellar mass function, satellite radial
distribution and in some cases, the presence of a Magellanic cloud like object.
Because these simulations properly model the Local Group in their cosmographic
context, they provide a testing ground for questions where environment is
thought to play an important role.
