Speaker
Description
Cosmological simulations, such as IllustrisTNG, are widely used to study the formation and evolution of galaxies on different scales, using parameters and physical models with a high degree of detail. However, the direct comparison of the results from N-body and smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations with data from observational astronomy is not a straightforward step, presenting significant challenges. This work aims to present a pipeline developed for creating mock images that mimic real astronomical observations, simulating observation bands and introducing synthetic realism. The method employed involves generating models of radiative emission and dust through Monte Carlo simulations using the SKIRT radiative transfer code, based on galaxies from the IllustrisTNG simulation. The simulated data are then processed to include effects of realism, such as synthetic noise and the point spread function (PSF). As a validation of the approach, we present: (i) the impact of the smoothing effect of applying the PSF on the ellipticity curve of galactic bars; (ii) the wavelength dependence in the analysis of bars in simulated galaxies using different observation bands. The results indicate that the use of mock images with realistic properties is crucial for detailed analyses of the physical properties of galaxies, being in some cases the only way to make direct comparisons with observations.
