Date/Time
Date(s) - 22/10/2008
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Dark Matter and Baryons in the Faintest Galaxies

Speaker: Dr. Rosemary Wyse – Johns Hopkins University

Institute: Johns Hopkins University

Location: ABB 102

Description:

The nature of dark matter is one of the outstanding questions of astrophysics. The internal motions of member stars reveal that the lowest luminosity galaxies in the Local Group are the most dark-matter dominated. New large datasets allow one to go further, and determine systematic properties of their dark-matter haloes. In addition, the chemical abundances of the stars constrain star formation, gas flows
and `feedback’.

I will summarize recent results, emphasising the critical role of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in understanding both dark matter and baryonic processes that shape galaxy evolution.