Abby Schleigh L&S Math & Physical Sciences
Relating AGN’s Baryonic Feedback with Galaxy Properties and Evolution
Baryonic feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is often cited as the reason for the reduced star formation rate in massive galaxies at redshifts z<2, known as “cosmic downsizing”. However, the precise physical mechanism responsible for cosmic downsizing is not fully understood. Among the redistributed baryons are free electrons, which undergo inverse Compton scattering with cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons in a process known as the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (tSZ) effect. As a result, the tSZ effect can be used to study the amount of feedback expelled from an AGN. Through analyzing variations in tSZ profiles by physical properties (e.g., star formation rates and AGN luminosity) inferred from the galaxies’ spectra, the goal is to investigate correlations between baryonic feedback and a galaxy’s physical properties. To investigate this, we use simulated data (SIMBA) to understand how many objects would be necessary to find definite trends and validate a methodology for differentiating the impact of correlated physical properties on tSZ profiles.
Message To Sponsor
I would like to thank the SURF donors for sponsoring my project. I have been interested in my research on AGN feedback and its impact on evolution for some time now, and I am excited to continue this venture under the SURF program.