The ν2GC simulations: Quantifying the dark side of the universe in the Planck cosmology

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>We present the evolution of dark matter halos in six large cosmological N-body simulations, called the ν2GC (New Numerical Galaxy Catalog) simulations on the basis of the ΛCDM cosmology consistent with observational results obtained with the Planck satellite. The largest simulation consists of 81923 (550 billion) dark matter particles in a box of 1.12 h−1 Gpc (a mass resolution of 2.20 × 108 h−1 M⊙). Among simulations utilizing boxes larger than 1 h−1 Gpc, our simulation yields the highest resolution simulation that has ever been achieved. A ν2GC simulation with the smallest box consists of eight billion particles in a box of 70 h−1 Mpc (a mass resolution of 3.44 × 106 h−1 M⊙). These simulations can follow the evolution of halos over masses of eight orders of magnitude, from small dwarf galaxies to massive clusters. Using the unprecedentedly high resolution and powerful statistics of the ν2GC simulations, we provide statistical results of the halo mass function, mass accretion rate, formation redshift, and merger statistics, and present accurate-fitting functions for the Planck cosmology. By combining the ν2GC simulations with our new semianalytic galaxy formation model, we are able to prepare mock catalogs of galaxies and active galactic nuclei, which will be publicly available in the near future.</jats:p>