סמינר באסטרונומיה ובאסטרופיזיקה: The Puzzling (and) Cool Circumgalactic Medium

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/87185167411?pwd=FpTUyIgXaOturzOFSetA6pPVYQilen.1

Abstract:

At the meeting point of galaxies with the cosmic web lies the circumgalactic medium (CGM), the galactic diffuse atmosphere. For Milky-Way-like galaxies, we know this atmosphere is highly multiphase, with gas at temperatures between 1e4 and 1e6K coexisting in the CGM. The cool, 1e4K, phase, is predicted by classical models to be relatively short lived, accreting onto the galaxy within the halo dynamical time and fueling star formation. Observations, on the other hand, show this gas is ubiquitous, with high detection rates around both star-forming and quiescent galaxies, revealing a gap in our understanding of the galactic baryon cycle, CGM physics, or both. In this talk I will present my recent work addressing the properties of the cool CGM across halo mass, from low to MW-mass galaxies at low redshifts. We construct analytic phenomenological models and apply them to observations to constrain the gas mass, thermal properties, and its morphology. I will finish by showing how upcoming instruments and future facilities will allow us to learn more about the physics of the CGM and the role it plays in galaxy evolution.

מארגן הסמינר: ד"ר יהונתן שטרן