Seminars are organized jointly by the Trieste Astronomical Observatory (INAF/OATS) and the Astronomy Unit of the Physics Dept. of the Trieste University (UNI/TS). They usually take place on Wednesdays at 11:30, in the seminar room (Sala Ovale) of Villa Bazzoni in via Bazzoni 2, TS.

Wed, SEP 23, 2020 --- online seminar at 11:30 AM, INAF GoogleMeet
SPEAKER: Tom Theuns (Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University)
TITLE: The IKEA model of self-regulated galaxy formation

ABSTRACT: I will present an analytical model of galaxy formation called IKEA, in which a galaxy's star formation rate balances energy gain due to feedback from massive stars with energy loss due to cosmological accretion. This equilibrium is stable and hence galaxy formation is self-regulating, provided the star formation rate in the ISM increases with gas pressure - as is the case of the Kennicutt-Schmidt star formation law, for example. The model is not meant to compete with semi-analytical models or simulations, rather it aims to expose the physics underlying self-regulation. 
IKEA's main parameter quantifies cooling loses that occur when supernovae heat a galaxy's ISM. Keeping this parameter constant, the model still reproduces well the star formation rate of Eagle galaxies. 
I will also discuss consequences of self-regulation, such as the galaxy stellar mass function and its evolution and the mass-metallicity relation, as well as an extension of the model to include AGN. Time permitting, I will also talk about a more recent extension of the model to Lyman-limit and Damped Lyman-alpha systems.

contact: Pierluigi Monaco