Towards a better understanding of low-mass galaxies beyond the Local Group

TYPEAstrophysics Seminar
Speaker:Shany Danieli
Affiliation:NASA Hubble Fellow and a Carnegie-Princeton Fellow at Princeton University
Date:19.01.2022
Time:14:30
Location:Lidow 620
Abstract:

Recent advances in telescope instrumentation and image analysis techniques have opened up a new window into the low surface brightness Universe. In particular, they now enable comprehensive and systematic investigations of low-mass galaxies beyond the Local Group. Their number densities, structures, and internal dynamics can be extremely insightful for studying dark matter and galaxy formation on small scales. I will present results studying these low surface brightness galaxies beyond our local galactic neighborhood. I will discuss follow-up observations of ultra-diffuse galaxies, focusing on their dark matter content and intriguing globular cluster populations, uncovering significant diversity and new astrophysical puzzles. I will end by presenting two ongoing wide-field imaging surveys using the Dragonfly Telephoto Array and the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco telescope. These complementary surveys will play a key role in mapping the census and properties of the general population of low-mass galaxies.