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The Ohio State University
College of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Department of Astronomy Colloquium Series 2006/7
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Tuesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.
2015 McPherson Laboratory
Feedback Processes in Cosmology
Evan Scannapieco
UC Santa Barbara
I will discuss how feedback processes play a central role in cosmological
structure formation at low and high redshift. Below z=2, the typical
stellar mass of star-forming galaxies has been decreasing, seemingly in
direct conflict with the prevailing hierarchical picture of structure
formation. Using analytic arguments and reviewing recent observations, I
will demonstrate that the solution to this mystery is likely to lie in the
formation of supermassive black holes, which exert strong feedback on their
environments as they pass through an active phase. Next, I will present the
results of one of the largest cosmological smooth particle hydrodynamic
simulations ever carried out, which includes this feedback process and can
be used to make detailed observational comparisons. In particular, our
modeling places us in a unique position to interpret joint measurements of
the distributions of AGN, galaxies, and small-scale distortions in the
microwave background. Finally, I will discuss my ongoing research into
high-redshift feedback processes, which is focused on guiding and
interpreting observations aimed at detecting primordial stars.
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Modified 2007 Jan 31 [bsr]