TAPIR Seminar

Despite remarkable success at modeling the evolution of massive galaxies over cosmic time, current hydrodynamic and semi-analytic models of galaxy formation fail to reproduce the observed fraction of passive satellite galaxies across a broad range in satellite stellar mass. This discrepancy hinges on a general lack of understanding regarding the physics by which star formation is suppressed, or quenched, in over-dense environments. In an effort to address this shortcoming, I will present recent work to measure the efficiency of satellite quenching over more than 6 orders of magnitude in satellite stellar mass at z ~ 0. In particular, this work utilizes observations of galaxy groups identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as well as detailed studies of dwarfs in the Local Volume to constrain the timescale upon which satellite quenching occurs following infall (and thus the physical mechanisms at play). By bringing together multiwavelength data across a broad range in satellite and host mass, our analysis has established a coherent physical picture of low-mass satellite quenching.