What Goes Around Comes Around: The Circumgalactic Medium and its Relation to Star Formation
Claire Kopenhafer, Michigan State University
Strong correlations have been observed between several properties that imply the existence of one or more mechanisms for self-regulation within galaxies. These mechanisms allow properties of the galaxy's stellar populations to be predicted from the mass of the host dark matter halo. There is evidence that the diffuse gas reservoir of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) can interact with supernova feedback to regulate star formation in a galaxy, such that it should evolve toward the stellar mass predicted from its halo mass. We simulated an isolated Milky Way-like halo, but with a third of the stellar mass it has today and a focus on high resolution in the CGM, to study the interaction between the CGM and supernova feedback and its effects on star formation in the galaxy.
Abstract Author(s): Claire Kopenhafer, Brian O'Shea, Devin Silvia