TAPIR Seminar

Near-Field Cosmology: Big Science From Small Galaxies

Mike Boylan-Kolchin, Center for Galaxy Evolution Fellow, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UC Irvine,

Dwarf galaxies are the most metal-poor and dark matter-dominated galactic systems known, and they therefore provide
a unique window onto galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter. I will present predictions from N-body simulations
based on the standard dark energy plus cold dark matter cosmological model for the abundance and structure of low-mass
galaxies around the Local Group, highlighting potentially serious discrepancies between these predictions and observations.
I will then discuss how baryonic processes or non-standard dark matter physics may modify this picture, and how the next
generation of ground and space-based telescopes, coupled with more advanced numerical simulations, will vastly improve
our knowledge. Finally, I will describe how studying the Local Group can guide our understanding of galaxy formation at cosmic
dawn, and conversely, how observations of the high-redshift Universe can inform models of nearby galaxies.

Event Sponsors:

Theoretical AstroPhysics Including Relativity and Cosmology (TAPIR) - More events from this Sponsor

For more information, please contact JoAnn Boyd by phone at 4280 or by email at [email protected].