Engineering Dwarfs at Galaxy Formation's Edge

My project focusses on the physics responsible for the formation of small dwarf galaxies (on the 'edge' of formation). Dwarf galaxies are particularly sensitive to the physics that govern their creation and evolution, and their close proximity to the Milky Way allow them to be observed in great detail. Such observations are often at odds with predictions from theory and from the lambda-CDM cosmological model. This has given rise to the 'Cusp-core problem' and the 'Missing satellite problem', which suggest that there are physics beyond the current theoretical framework.

By running cosmological simulations over a Hubble time (14 Gyr), galaxy formation under the influence of various physics can be investigated. Among other things I will study cusp-core transformations, the effects of reionisation, the importance of radiative feedback, and star cluster formation within ultra-faint dwarfs. The outcome of these investigations will aid in revealing what kind of physics is necessary to produce the dwarf galaxies we observe in our universe today.

Supervisors