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Galaxy clusters are the largest virialized structures in the universe, providing ideal laboratories to study cosmology, plasma physics, and the nature of dark matter. Understanding their formation and evolution is one of the frontiers in modern astrophysics. In this talk, I will discuss key astrophysical processes in galaxy clusters, from activities of supermassive black holes in the cluster center to accretion and violent mergers in the outskirts. I will demonstrate the vital role of idealized numerical simulations in understanding the underlying physics in large-scale structures, e.g., feedback, turbulence, shocks, halo virialization. This approach sheds light on how one interprets the multi-wavelength observational data (e.g., SRG/eROSITA, LOFAR) and is important for the development of the future telescopes (e.g., XRISM, CSST, SKA).
Congyao Zhang is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago. Before that, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) as a postdoctoral researcher. He received his PhD degree at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA) at Peking University in 2016. His research interests include galaxy clusters, large-scale structures, and cosmology. Collaborating closely with both theorists and observers, he currently concentrates on applying analytical and numerical modelling to understand (1) formation and evolution of galaxy clusters and (2) how to use these massive structures to investigate plasma physics and cosmology.