The hidden circumgalactic medium

*To request access to the videoconference, please contact physinfo@sfu.ca

Synopsis

The BC Galaxy Summer Seminar Series is jointly organized by SFU, UBC and UVic.

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) represents the boundary between the interstellar medium and the cosmic web, and its properties are directly shaped by the baryon cycle in galaxies. The CGM was traditionally believed to consist mostly of warm and hot gas, but recent breakthroughs have presented a new scenario according to which an important fraction of its mass may reside in an "hidden" cold atomic and molecular phase. This would have major implications for galaxy formation and evolution theories, because it would imply that the CGM entrains dense gas that is readily available for star formation.