Galaxy-halo connection and near-field cosmology with numerical and semi-analytic methods

by Dr Fangzhou Jiang (California Institute of Technology (joint appointment at the Carnegie Observatories))

Monday 11 Jan 2021, 10:00 → 11:00 Asia/Shanghai

ONLINE

Abstract

In our modern understanding of the Universe, dark matter (DM) constitutes ~85% of the total mass and forms gravitationally bound structures (“halos”) which are the sites for baryon condensation and galaxy formation. Galaxies contain information of their host halos, and halos react to the baryonic processes of the inhabitant galaxies — their connections are essential for understanding galaxy formation, and enable us to derive fundamental properties in the dark sector by examining the visible material. Halos and galaxies are full of substructures as a consequence of hierarchical merging — these “subhalos” or satellite galaxies contain valuable information of the host's formation history as well as fundamental parameters of the Universe at large. In this seminar, I will present my systematic works on halo substructures and satellite galaxies, as well as my contributions on the interplay between halos and inhabitant galaxies. I will highlight the links between these two venues of research, and showcase the advantage of a combined effort using both cosmological simulations and semi-analytical methods. Finally, I will layout my plan in the next ~5 years towards a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the connections between halo structure, galaxy morphology, satellite statistics, and baryonic feedback.

Biography

I am an astrophysicist specializing in the theory of galaxy formation and evolution. Currently I am a Troesh Postdoctoral Scholar at California Institute of Technology (joint appointment at the Carnegie Observatories).  I was a PBC Fellow in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 2016 to 2019. I obtained my PhD degree from Yale University in 2016 (supervised by Prof. Frank van den Bosch), and BSc degree from the Kuang-Yaming Honors School in Nanjing University in 2010. I study the interplay between galaxies and their hosting dark-matter halos using semi-analytic models and cosmological simulations, with an emphasis on halo substructure, galaxy morphology, and the properties of dwarf galaxies and satellite galaxies as testbeds of cosmology and feedback prescriptions.

Chair

Professor Xiaohu Yang

Division

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Other information

Video record is available: https://vshare.sjtu.edu.cn/open/7f9a49b69ac210631221cf504f2742e2