Interstellar dust is pervasive throughout the Universe, and most light from young, massive stars is absorbed by dust and reradiated as thermal emission in the infrared. Submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), a class of very infrared-luminous distant galaxies, are some of the most extreme star-forming galaxies known, forming stars at rates hundreds or even thousands of times greater than our own Milky Way. I will review our understanding of this enigmatic population, which has challenged galaxy formation theories since their discovery in the late 1990s. I will highlight how the population provides novel constraints on galaxy formation physics, cosmology, and possibly even the nature of dark matter. I will also show how they serve as beacons of galaxy clusters in the process of formation.
Bio:
I am a theorist who works to answer a wide variety of pressing open questions regarding galaxy formation. I emphasize bridging the gap between theory and observations by predicting observables from hydrodynamical simulations of galaxies through dust radiative transfer. I also do more traditional ‘pure’ theoretical work, ranging from developing an analytic theory for how stellar feedback simultaneously regulates star formation and drives outflows to magnetohydrodynamic simulations of galaxy mergers to detailed comparisons of numerical hydrodynamical methods and 'sub-resolution' implementations of crucial physical processes that cannot currently be treated ab initio in galaxy formation simulations, such as black hole growth.
I am currently an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, which is funded by the Simons Foundation. Previously, I was a Moore Prize Postdoctoral Scholar in Theoretical Astrophysics at Caltech, where I primarily worked with Prof. Phil Hopkins. From December 2011 until July 2014, I was an independent postdoctoral scholar in Prof. Volker Springel’s group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies. In October 2011, I earned my PhD from Harvard; my supervisor was Prof. Lars Hernquist. Prior to starting at Harvard in September 2006, I spent a year in Cambridge, England, where I earned a Master of Advanced Study in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (with honors) for surviving Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. My undergrad years were spent at the University of Michigan, where I triple-majored in Astronomy & Astrophysics (highest honors), Physics, and Mathematics (high honors). I had the great fortune to start doing astrophysics research with Prof. Joel Bregman essentially as soon as I arrived at U of M, and I haven’t looked back since!
For more information, please see Dr. Hayward's research website here.
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2022-11-28T15:00:002022-11-28T16:00:00What can high-redshift, infrared-luminous galaxies tell us about galaxy formation physics and cosmology?Event Information:
Abstract:
Interstellar dust is pervasive throughout the Universe, and most light from young, massive stars is absorbed by dust and reradiated as thermal emission in the infrared. Submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), a class of very infrared-luminous distant galaxies, are some of the most extreme star-forming galaxies known, forming stars at rates hundreds or even thousands of times greater than our own Milky Way. I will review our understanding of this enigmatic population, which has challenged galaxy formation theories since their discovery in the late 1990s. I will highlight how the population provides novel constraints on galaxy formation physics, cosmology, and possibly even the nature of dark matter. I will also show how they serve as beacons of galaxy clusters in the process of formation.
Bio:
I am a theorist who works to answer a wide variety of pressing open questions regarding galaxy formation. I emphasize bridging the gap between theory and observations by predicting observables from hydrodynamical simulations of galaxies through dust radiative transfer. I also do more traditional ‘pure’ theoretical work, ranging from developing an analytic theory for how stellar feedback simultaneously regulates star formation and drives outflows to magnetohydrodynamic simulations of galaxy mergers to detailed comparisons of numerical hydrodynamical methods and 'sub-resolution' implementations of crucial physical processes that cannot currently be treated ab initio in galaxy formation simulations, such as black hole growth.
I am currently an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, which is funded by the Simons Foundation. Previously, I was a Moore Prize Postdoctoral Scholar in Theoretical Astrophysics at Caltech, where I primarily worked with Prof. Phil Hopkins. From December 2011 until July 2014, I was an independent postdoctoral scholar in Prof. Volker Springel’s group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies. In October 2011, I earned my PhD from Harvard; my supervisor was Prof. Lars Hernquist. Prior to starting at Harvard in September 2006, I spent a year in Cambridge, England, where I earned a Master of Advanced Study in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (with honors) for surviving Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. My undergrad years were spent at the University of Michigan, where I triple-majored in Astronomy & Astrophysics (highest honors), Physics, and Mathematics (high honors). I had the great fortune to start doing astrophysics research with Prof. Joel Bregman essentially as soon as I arrived at U of M, and I haven’t looked back since!
For more information, please see Dr. Hayward's research website here.
Event Location:
HENN 318
