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Entropy-Conserving Scheme for Modeling Nonthermal Energies in Fluid Dynamics Simulations

We compare the performance of energy-based and entropy-conserving schemes for modeling nonthermal energy components, such as unresolved turbulence and cosmic rays, using idealized fluid dynamics tests and isolated galaxy simulations. While both methods are aimed to model advection and adiabatic compression or expansion of different energy components, the energy-based scheme numerically solves the nonconservative equation for the energy density evolution, while the entropy-conserving scheme uses a conservative equation for modified entropy. Using the standard shock tube and Zel'dovich pancake tests, we show that the energy-based scheme results in a spurious generation of nonthermal energy on shocks, while the entropy-conserving method evolves the energy adiabatically to machine precision. We also show that, in simulations of an isolated $L_\star$ galaxy, switching between the schemes results in $\approx 20-30\%$ changes of the total star formation rate and a significant difference in morphology, particularly near the galaxy center. We also outline and test a simple method that can be used in conjunction with the entropy-conserving scheme to model the injection of nonthermal energies on shocks. Finally, we discuss how the entropy-conserving scheme can be used to capture the kinetic energy dissipated by numerical viscosity into the subgrid turbulent energy implicitly, without explicit source terms that require calibration and can be rather uncertain. Our results indicate that the entropy-conserving scheme is the preferred choice for modeling nonthermal energy components, a conclusion that is equally relevant for Eulerian and moving-mesh fluid dynamics codes.