Triumphs and tribulations of near-field cosmology with wide-field surveys: a biased perspective
Beth Willman
Haverford
Over the last decade, wide-field surveys have revolutionized our view
of the Milky Way's stellar halo and dwarf galaxy population. Much of
this observational progress has been motivated by a series of apparent
`crises' for our cosmological model: the missing satellites problem,
too big to fail, and the apparent planar distribution of dwarf satellite
galaxies. These challenges have effectively functioned as flashlights
pointing us to interesting galaxy formation physics. I will highlight
related observational progress in our understanding of galaxy formation
using near-field observations. I will then focus on the limiting impacts of
observational bias and ways that current and future surveys will be used
to tackle these biases. In particular, I will present new predictions
for the number of Milky Way dwarf galaxies expected to be discovered
in DES and LSST, RR Lyrae stars as a tool to discover dwarf galaxies in
previously unexplored territory, and the use of M giant stars to map the
Milky Way's halo beyond its virial radius
Date: | Mardi, le 10 mars 2015 |
Heure: | 15:30 |
Lieu: | Université McGill |
| Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103) |
Contact: | Robert Rutledga |
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