Dissipationless Formation of Giant Galaxies
Milos Milosavljevic (Caltech) - 26 Sep at 12:00 noon
While galaxy formation is governed by many factors, evidence points to dissipationless merging as the process responsible for the assembly of giant galaxies. I use a simple analytical model of cosmological merger dynamics to attempt to explain various observed properties of galaxy populations. The model sheds light on such aspects as the detailed relation between the central galaxy luminosity and the dark matter halo mass, the shape of the galaxy luminosity function, the origin of the characteristic luminosity scale L*, and the incidence rate of fossil groups. The success of the model suggests that gas cooling and star formation did not play an important role in the final assembly of giant galaxies from sub-L* precursors. I discuss the prospects for a direct measurement of dark matter halo merger rates on group and cluster scales.
The seminar will be held in 544 Campbell Hall.
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