Connecting the observable to the non-observable at a crossroads of observational and computational galaxy astronomy
Connor Bottrell
University of Tokyo

The growth of structure in the Universe is predicated upon the assembly of large structures from smaller structures. Gravitational interactions, collisions, and subsequent mergers between galaxies are therefore an underpinning ingredient of galaxy evolution. Meanwhile, the strong gravitational and tidal forces involved in close galaxy encounters can be drivers of morphological and kinematic transformation, but also the acceleration of physical processes such as star-formation, black hole accretion, and chemical redistribution. So, how are current galaxy properties connected to the details of their recent and early assembly histories? What role does assembly have in driving the diversification of galaxies and their physical properties from the primordial porridge of the early Universe to today? The challenge is that the true collision record of a galaxy is not accessible observationally ? thereby hindering such connections. In an effort to tackle this challenge, I will show how realistic synthetic observations of galaxies from hydrodynamical simulations, statistics, and machine learning can be used to unravel connections between the observable and the intrinsically unobservable.

Date:	Thursday, 23 March 2023
Time:	11:30
Where:	Université de Montréal
	Campus MIL salle A3541