Unveiling the population of massive quenched galaxies at $z\ge2$ in the COLIBRE simulations - I. Galaxy demographics

[2512.16208] Unveiling the population of massive quenched galaxies at $z\ge2$ in the COLIBRE simulations - I. Galaxy demographics Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search Astrophysics > Astrophysics of Galaxies arXiv:2512.16208 (astro-ph) [Submitted on 18 Dec 2025 ( v1 ), last revised 15 Aug 2026 (this version, v3)] Title: Unveiling the population of massive quenched galaxies at $z\ge2$ in the COLIBRE simulations - I. Galaxy demographics Authors: Ángel Chandro-Gómez (1,2), Claudia del P. Lagos , Chris Power , William M. Baker , Alejandro Benítez-Llambay , Evgenii Chaikin , Harry G. Chittenden , Camila Correa , Carlos S. Frenk , Filip Huško , Robert J. McGibbon , Themiya Nanayakkara , Sylvia Ploeckinger , Alexander J. Richings , Matthieu Schaller , Joop Schaye , James W. Trayford ((1) International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia, (2) ARC Centre for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D)) View a PDF of the paper titled Unveiling the population of massive quenched galaxies at $z\ge2$ in the COLIBRE simulations - I. Galaxy demographics, by \'Angel Chandro-G\'omez (1 and 21 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: The James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered a substantial population of Massive ($M_{\star} > 10^{10}\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$), Quenched Galaxies (MQGs) in the early Universe ($z \ge 2$), whose properties challenge current galaxy formation models. In this series, we examine this population of MQGs within the new COLIBRE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, which introduce key innovations in their sub-grid physics. In this first paper, we find a dependence of MQG number densities on both mass resolution and the Active Galactic Nucleus feedback implementation, as well as a significant impact from potential observational uncertainties. Using the fiducial $(200\,\rm cMpc)^3$ volume L200m6 simulation, which provides adequate volume, mass and spatial resolution to study these systems, we report number densities and stellar mass functions in broad agreement with the latest observations. The predicted quenching and formation timescales are qualitatively consistent with observational inferences, indicating extended formation (medians $t_{50}\approx0.5-1.5\,\mathrm{Gyr}$) followed by rapid quenching (medians $t_{\mathrm{q}}\lesssim0.6\,\mathrm{Gyr}$) with strong starburst episodes. Leveraging the state-of-the-art physics in COLIBRE, the model predicts that MQGs have dust and $\rm H_{2}$ fractions more than $1$~dex lower than their massive star-forming counterparts; generally consistent with the (scarce) observational estimates. MQGs and massive star-forming systems show broadly similar stellar sizes and kinematics, suggesting that size or morphological transformations occur after quenching in COLIBRE. Our results provide robust predictions for MQGs and show that tensions with observations are reduced when an effective observational uncertainty is forward-modelled. Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (after minor changes). This work is Part I of a two-paper series (Part II: arXiv:2605.31052 ). 25 pages (18 of main body and 7 of appendices) Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ; Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) Cite as: arXiv:2512.16208 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2512.16208v3 [astro-ph.GA] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.16208 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1481 Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Ángel Chandro-Gómez [ view email ] [v1] Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:56:50 UTC (3,994 KB) [v2] Fri, 29 May 2026 09:14:10 UTC (2,546 KB) [v3] Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:44:45 UTC (2,550 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Unveiling the population of massive quenched galaxies at $z\ge2$ in the COLIBRE simulations - I. Galaxy demographics, by \'Angel Chandro-G\'omez (1 and 21 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: astro-ph.GA < prev | next > new | recent | 2025-12 Change to browse by: astro-ph astro-ph.CO References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... 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