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

Date:
-
Location:
Online by Zoom
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s):
Shany Danieli (Institute for Advanced Study)

Low mass galaxies provide an essential testing ground for theoretical predictions of cosmology. Their number densities, structures, and internal dynamics can be extremely insightful for studying dark matter and galaxy formation on small scales. I will discuss recent results studying ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs). UDGs hold the promise of new constraints on low mass galaxies dynamics, as their spatial extent and often significant globular cluster populations provide probes on spatial scales where dark matter should dominate the kinematics. I will also discuss the dynamics of two UDGs that seem to lack most, if not all, of their dark matter and host an intriguing population of globular clusters. I will finish by presenting a new wide-field survey carried out with the 48-lens Dragonfly Telephoto Array. With an excellent photometric depth, the Dragonfly Wide Field Survey will provide an unprecedented view of the low surface brightness universe over a wide area of the sky (350 square degrees). The main goal of the survey is to provide information on the properties and statistics of the dwarf galaxy population beyond the Local Group but it will also provide a useful resource for other resolved, low surface brightness phenomena, such as stellar streams and tidal tails, stellar halos, intragroup light and the extent of massive galaxies.

Zoom Recording: https://uky.zoom.us/rec/share/enMKk_C1E4A0dIkX9Zhd5Ahkgr8FoOy-47Maqeu1dWM0X75nhZTPwWY8XkGV_uUm.isTz3MAuWX8Eo8q9