Galaxy evolution in cluster cores and outskirts: Insights from integral field spectroscopy

February 23, 2023

When: February 23, 2023 3:30PM

Where: LCO Downstairs Conference Room

California Polytechnic State University

When and how does environment impact the evolution of galaxies? This question will be approached by considering two specific environments. First: The cores of massive clusters. Here, the largest, reddest galaxies of the local universe are found, Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs). These galaxies are spatially aligned with the diffuse intracluster light (ICL). We'll explore recent results from an integral field unit survey of local cluster cores which provides photometric and spectroscopic evidence of a break in age, between the old red and dead BCG cores, and the younger ICL that surrounds them. Second: Cluster scale filaments. Here, galaxies find themselves in moderate density environments, where they are potentially able to interact with each other and the intracluster medium, initiating starbursts and undergoing quenching. Recent SITELLE observations from CFHT provide clear examples of emission line galaxies in cluster feeding filaments. Finally, we will discuss plans to extend the work with the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

Louise Edwards

Dr. Louise Edwards joined Cal Poly in August, 2016, having been a lecturer in the Yale Astronomy department for 4 years prior. She was also an Assistant Professor of Physics at Mount Allison University, and held postdoctoral positions at the California Institute of Technology's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and at Trent University. She received her PhD in Physics from Laval University in Quebec, Canada in 2007. Optical and infrared spectroscopy, along with photometric data from X-ray, through to Radio wavelengths allow Dr. Edwards to study the formation and evolution of galaxies. She is particularly interested in the cores and infall regions of rich galaxy clusters. In 2002, she was pictured on a Canadian stamp.

Seminar