Astronomy

“Understanding galaxy formation through the physics of the interstellar medium”

Abstract:

Computational galaxy formation has been remarkably successful in the last decade in reproducing realistic galaxies using “cosmological simulations,” where a smooth mixture of gas and dark matter in the early Universe gradually evolves into thousands of galaxies due to gravity and hydrodynamics. The key to this success is the “feedback” processes that drive the cycling of gas and heavy elements in and around galaxies. However, all existing cosmological simulations face a fundamental limitation in their robustness as they adopt empirical sub-grid models tuned to reproduce observations. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress in galaxy-scale simulations that resolve the interstellar medium (ISM) as an emerging new approach from a bottom-up perspective. Specifically, I will focus on two interconnected aspects: (1) How stellar feedback regulates star formation and drives galactic outflows and the implications to the nature of dark matter. (2) How the ISM chemistry that connects theory and observations behaves differently in metal-poor environments as commonly found in the early Universe. I will conclude by describing future prospects for developing next-generation cosmological simulations that can bridge the fields of galaxy formation and cosmology.

Dr. Chia-Yu Hu, University of Florida

Thursday, January 18, 2024 @ 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM EST

217 Bryant Space Science Center