Seminario DAS: Mapping gas accretion onto galaxy disks

Speaker: Dr. Glenn Kacprzak
Affiliation: Swinburne University

Abstract: The question of how galaxies acquire the gas needed for star formation is central to our understanding of galaxy evolution, yet remains largely unanswered. It is believed that the key to this evolution lies in the massive reservoirs of gas surrounding galaxies, known as the circumgalactic medium (CGM). In this colloquium, I will explore the pathways through which CGM gas travels into galaxies. Using data from Keck, VLT, and Hubble, we directly trace gas as it moves from cosmic scales to galactic disks, quantifying changes in angular momentum, metallicity, and ionisation that reveal new insights into gas accretion processes. Our results show that the spatial distribution and kinematic behavior of the CGM challenge simulation predictions, pointing to a complex, multiphase structure within the CGM. I will also briefly discuss new emission measurements of the CGM, which offer a fresh perspective on the processes that fuel galaxies.