Seminario DAS // "Giants in the Cosmic Web: Probing the Early Emergence of Massive Galaxies from the Space and Ground"

Speaker: Dr. Weichen Chen
Affiliation: CASSACA Chile

Abstract: The majority of massive galaxies in the Universe form and evolve within the large-scale structure known as the Cosmic Web. In early epochs, the Cosmic Web hosts a plethora of gas flows and massive black holes, particularly around the web nodes. How did special environments as such have shaped the very early phase of galaxy formation? To address this question, I would like to present our recent study of a Cosmic Web node at z~3. Deep JWST, VLT, and ALMA observations revealed a surprisingly heterogeneous population of massive galaxies, including extended star-forming disks and compact quiescent galaxies. I will demonstrate that gas accretion and AGN feedback in the Cosmic Web node environment likely played critical roles in shaping these objects.

I will finish by discussing the prospects of utilizing new-generation facilities to advance our understanding of early galaxy formation. In particular, I will highlight the potential of coordinating wide-field space surveys with ground follow-up observations, many of which can be achieved with the help of the Chilean facilities, to probe galaxy-environment connections in the data-driven era of extragalactic astronomy.