Abstract
I present results from high-resolution, "genetically modified", cosmological simulations quantifying the diversity in the structural properties of faint dwarf galaxies. Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies are the least luminous objects in the Universe. Their shallow potential well makes them highly sensitive to the interaction between dynamical mass growth and internal, feedback processes. This sensitivity provides an ideal laboratory for testing galaxy formation models, while also generating significant scatter in their stellar and gaseous properties. Quantifying the expected scatter will be essential to interpret findings in the next generation of deep, wide sky, surveys (e.g. LSST). To begin this quantification, I present a suite of simulated low-mass, field dwarf galaxies, evolved with cosmological zoom simulations capable of resolving the explosions of individual supernovae (Rey et al. 2019, 2020). These high-resolution simulations are complemented with the "genetic modification" approach, allowing us to resimulate chosen galaxies making targeted changes to their cosmological mass growth history. This unique combination of abilities provides a complete overview of the interaction between feedback and assembly in these systems. I will show how this interplay regulates the ability of the lowest-mass galaxies to accrete fresh gas at late times, leading to diverse cold gas content at similar stellar masses. I will further show how this accretion can allow dwarfs to re-ignite and sustain continuous, low levels of star formation until today, highly reminiscent of observed star-forming low-mass dwarfs (e.g. Leo T, Leo P)....
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Hypatia Colloquium 2021 |
| Subtitle of host publication | Early Career Astronomer series at ESO |
| Publisher | Zenodo |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Oct 2021 |