Roberto Maiolino (Cambridge) - The multiple routes of galaxy transformation across the cosmic epochs

When: Friday, November 19, 2021, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Physics (G. O. Jones building) Room 610 & online

Speaker: Roberto Maiolino (Cambridge)

The multiple routes of galaxy transformation across the cosmic epochs

In the local universe most of the stellar mass is in passive galaxies, where star formation is absent or at very low levels. Understanding what are the mechanisms that have been responsible for quenching star formation in galaxies, and transforming them into passive, quiescent systems, is one of the main observational and theoretical challenges of extragalactic astrophysics. I will give a brief overview of the several possible quenching causes and physical processes that have been proposed so far, ranging from feedback from black hole accretion and star formation activity, to effects associated with the large scale environment in which galaxies live. Although most of these mechanisms and causes play a role in different classes of galaxies and at different epochs, multi-band observations are providing growing evidences that just a few of them play the key, dominant role.

I will conclude by providing prospects for further investigating these aspects and tackling open questions with the next generation of observing facilities.