Building Massive Galaxies through Dwarf Galaxy Mergers Dr. Sabrina

Building Massive Galaxies through Dwarf Galaxy Mergers Dr. Sabrina Stierwalt University of Virgina/Caltech

Thursday, October 19th 11:10 am - Noon Building 53 Room 215

Massive galaxies like our own Milky Way are thought to be built by the merging of smaller galaxies. Despite this incredibly important role in galaxy evolution, however, little is known about the physics of mergers between low mass galaxies. I will present results from the TiNy Titans survey (TNT), the first large scale study of interactions and mergers between low mass galaxies, including how much of our extensive knowledge of massive galaxy mergers can be scaled down to explain low mass mergers. We are addressing such questions as: do mergers between low mass galaxies inspire starbursts and the growth of intermediate mass black holes? Are low mass galaxies ever found in groups without a massive galaxy neighbor?

Bio information Dr. Sabrina Stierwalt is an extragalactic astrophysicist at the University of Virginia/Caltech. She uses nearby, interacting galaxies to understand how stars formed throughout the universe's history with a focus on radio and submillimeter wavelengths. She is also Macmillan Publishings Everyday Einstein with a weekly science podcast.