Speaker

Wojciech Hellwing

Center for Theoretical Physics PAS

Abstract

The Cosmic Web -- an intricate network of clusters, filaments, walls, and voids -- can be identified in a myriad of possible ways leading to a vast ocean of its aspects and properties. Most of the features of the Web are still being assessed and identified. We are still quite far-away from possessing widely accepted standards. Because of this the Cosmic-Web impact on the formation and evolution of haloes and galaxies is a subject to ongoing debate. The differences are mostly driven by a specific choice among many existing-working definitions of the Cosmic Web. Nonetheless, it is clear that different segments of this net establish different intimate environments and ecosystems for the local halo and galaxy formation. In this talk, I will demonstrate, using some of the most advanced Cosmic Web identification algorithms (NEXUS+, SpineWeb), how indeed the disparate environments affect the local formation histories and properties of galaxies living within. I will focus on stellar mass to halo mass and galaxy metallicities. Our findings indicate a fundamental role that the local cosmic environment plays in shaping galaxy formation histories, which in turn have profound implications for their intrinsic properties.

Scientific theme

Cosmic web. galaxies, environment, galaxy formation & evolution