We introduce the the three hundred project, an endeavour to model 324 large galaxy clusters with full-physics hydrodynamical re-simulations. Here we present the data set and study the differences to observations for fundamental galaxy cluster properties and scaling relations. We find that the modelled galaxy clusters are generally in reasonable agreement with observations with respect to baryonic fractions and gas scaling relations at redshift $$z$$ = 0. However, there are still some (model-dependent) differences, such as central galaxies being too massive, and galaxy colours (g − r) being bluer (about 0.2 dex lower at the peak position) than in observations. The agreement in gas scaling relations down to $$10^{13}{{\, h^{-1}\, {\rm {M_{\odot }}}}}$$ between the simulations indicates that particulars of the sub-grid modelling of the baryonic physics only has a weak influence on these relations. We also include – where appropriate – a comparison to three semi-analytical galaxy formation models as applied to the same underlying dark-matter-only simulation. All simulations and derived data products are publicly available.

In this paper, we carry out a detailed analysis of the performance of two different methods to identify the diffuse stellar light in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters. One method is based on a dynamical analysis of the stellar component, which separates the brightest central galaxy (BCG) from the stellar component not gravitationally bound to any galaxy, what we call ’diffuse stellar component’ (DSC). The second method is closer to techniques commonly employed in observational studies. We generate mock images from simulations, and assume a standard surface brightness limit (SBL) to disentangle the BCG from the intra-cluster light (ICL). Both the dynamical method and the method based on the SBL criterion are applied to the same set of hydrodynamical simulations for a large sample of about 80 galaxy clusters. We analyse two sets of radiative simulations: a first set includes the effect of cooling, star formation, chemical enrichment and galactic outflows triggered by supernova feedback (CSF set); a second one also includes the effect of thermal feedback from active galactic nuclei triggered by gas accretion on to supermassive black holes (AGN set). We find significant differences between the ICL and DSC fractions computed with the two corresponding methods, which amounts to about a factor of 2 for the AGN simulations, and a factor of 4 for the CSF set. We also find that the inclusion of AGN feedback boosts the DSC and ICL fractions by a factor of 1.5–2, respectively, while leaving the BCG+ICL and BCG+DSC mass fraction almost unchanged. The sum of the BCG and DSC mass stellar mass fraction is found to decrease from ∼80 per cent in galaxy groups to ∼60 per cent in rich clusters, thus in excess of that found from observational analysis. We identify the average SBLs that yield the ICL fraction from the SBL method close to the DSC fraction from the dynamical method. These SBLs turn out to be brighter in the CSF than in the AGN simulations. This is consistent with the finding that AGN feedback makes BCGs to be less massive and with shallower density profiles than in the CSF simulations. The BCG stellar components, as identified by both methods, are slightly older and more metal-rich than the stars in the diffuse component. Relaxed clusters have somewhat higher stellar mass fractions in the diffuse component. The metallicity and age of both the BCG and diffuse components in relaxed clusters are also richer in metals and older.

In the outer regions of a galaxy cluster, galaxies either may be falling into the cluster for the first time or have already passed through the cluster centre at some point in their past. To investigate these two distinct populations, we utilize TheThreeHundred project, a suite of 324 hydrodynamical resimulations of galaxy clusters. In particular, we study the ‘backsplash population’ of galaxies: those that have passed within R200 of the cluster centre at some time in their history, but are now outside of this radius. We find that, on average, over half of all galaxies between R200 and 2R200 from their host at $z$ = 0 are backsplash galaxies, but that this fraction is dependent on the dynamical state of a cluster, as dynamically relaxed clusters have a greater backsplash fraction. We also find that this population is mostly developed at recent times ($z$ ≲ 0.4), and is dependent on the recent history of a cluster. Finally, we show that the dynamical state of a given cluster, and thus the fraction of backsplash galaxies in its outskirts, can be predicted based on observational properties of the cluster.

Using the state-of-the-art suite of hydrodynamic simulations Simba, as well as its dark-matter-only counterpart, we study the impact of the presence of baryons and of different stellar/AGN feedback mechanisms on large-scale structure, halo density profiles, and on the abundance of different baryonic phases within haloes and in the intergalactic medium (IGM). The unified picture that emerges from our analysis is that the main physical drivers shaping the distribution of matter at all scales are star formation-driven galactic outflows at z > 2 for lower mass haloes and AGN jets at z < 2 in higher mass haloes. Feedback suppresses the baryon mass function with time relative to the halo mass function, and it even impacts the halo mass function itself at the ∼20 per cent level, particularly evacuating the centres and enhancing dark matter just outside haloes. At early epochs baryons pile up in the centres of haloes, but by late epochs and particularly in massive systems gas has mostly been evacuated from within the inner halo. AGN jets are so efficient at such evacuation that at low redshifts the baryon fraction within ∼10¹²–10¹³ M_⊙ haloes is only 25 per cent of the cosmic baryon fraction, mostly in stars. The baryon fraction enclosed in a sphere around such haloes approaches the cosmic value Ω_b/Ω_m only at 10–20 virial radii. As a result, 87 per cent of the baryonic mass in the Universe lies in the IGM at z = 0, with 67 per cent being in the form of warm-hot IGM (T > 10⁵K).