Spatially-resolved galaxy angular momentum encodes galaxy evolution

Mon 1 April 2019 @14:15 PM, level 7, David Caro Building
Dr Sarah Sweet Swinburne University

Email:  sarah[at]sarahsweet.com.au

Abstract

How do galaxies evolve from the compact, red nuggets; clumpy, turbulent disks; and complex merging systems of the early Universe to the familiar Hubble types we see today? Their evolution is intimately linked with the environmental conditions and structure of the Universe since cosmic noon. The impact of cumulative tidal torques over a galaxy’s lifetime is traced by its specific angular momentum, which is consequently a fundamental property in its evolutionary history, affecting that galaxy’s size, density and morphology. In this talk I will present research into the relation between specific angular momentum and galaxy morphology for galaxies at the peak of cosmic star formation and galaxies today, critically accounting for the internal spatial distribution of angular momentum and its effect on galaxy evolution.