Using Gadget-2 cosmological hydrodynamic simulations including an observationally-constrained model for galactic outflows , we investigate how feedback from star formation distributes mass , metals , and energy on cosmic scales from z = 6 \rightarrow 0 .
We include instantaneous enrichment from Type II supernovae ( SNe ) , as well as delayed enrichment from Type Ia SNe and stellar ( AGB ) mass loss , and we individually track carbon , oxygen , silicon , and iron using the latest yields .
Following on the successes of the momentum-driven wind scalings ( e.g .
Oppenheimer & Davé 2006 ) , we improve our implementation by using an on-the-fly galaxy finder to derive wind properties based on host galaxy masses .
By tracking wind particles in a suite of simulations , we find : ( 1 ) Wind material reaccretes onto a galaxy ( usually the same one it left ) on a recycling timescale that varies inversely with galaxy mass ( e.g . < 1 Gyr for L ^ { * } galaxies at z = 0 ) .
Hence metals driven into the IGM by galactic superwinds can not be assumed to leave their galaxy forever .
Wind material is typically recycled several times ; the median number of ejections for a given wind particle is 3 , so by z = 0 the total mass ejected in winds exceeds 0.5 \Omega _ { b } .
( 2 ) The physical distance winds travel is fairly independent of redshift and galaxy mass ( \sim 60 - 100 physical kpc , with a mild increase to lower masses and redshifts ) .
For sizable galaxies at later epochs , winds typically do not escape the galaxy halo , and rain back down in a halo fountain .
High- z galaxies enrich a significantly larger comoving volume of the IGM , with metals migrating back into galaxies to lower z .
( 3 ) The stellar mass of the typical galaxy responsible for every form of feedback ( mass , metal , & energy ) grows by \sim 30 \times between z = 6 \rightarrow 2 , but only \sim 2 - 3 \times between z = 2 \rightarrow 0 , and is around or below L ^ { * } at all epochs .
( 4 ) The energy imparted into winds scales with M _ { gal } ^ { 1 / 3 } , and is roughly near the supernova energy .
Given radiative losses , energy from another source ( such as photons from young stars ) may be required to distribute cosmic metals as observed .
( 5 ) The production of all four metals tracked is globally dominated by Type II SNe at all epochs .
However , intracluster gas iron content triples as a result of non-Type II sources , and the low- z IGM carbon content is boosted significantly by AGB feedback .
This is mostly because gas is returned into the ISM to form one-third more stars by z = 0 , appreciably enhancing cosmic star formation at z \la 1 .