Galaxy-Intergalactic Medium Interactions
Coordinators: Andrea Ferrara, Piero Madau, Matthias H. Steinmetz
Recent progress in the understanding of the dark matter and dark
energy content of the universe has highlighted our ignorance of the
evolution of baryonic matter, and its relationship with structure
formation. While it was once considered nothing more than the
leftovers from galaxy formation, it is now clear that the
intergalactic medium(IGM), the main repository of baryons in the
universe, has a complex history that is intimately tied with galaxy
evolution. The formation of the first astrophysical objects had an
enormous impact on the IGM, reionizing this gas, enriching it with
heavy elements, and heating the regions that later collapsed into
galaxy clusters. These processes strongly influenced
the formation of the next generation of objects through a widespread
physical network of feedback effects. Furthermore, structures observed
in the IGM can be used to check the validity of the cosmic concordance model of structure formation on kpc-Mpc scales, i.e. scales that are not probed by currently envisioned microwave background experiments and large scale galaxy surveys. The main aim of this program is to make progress in
understanding the physics of these complex interactions between galaxies
and the intergalactic medium and the evolution of baryonic matter through
cosmic time.
Galaxy-Intergalactic Medium Interactions(Conference)
Galaxy-Intergalactic Medium Interactions(Conference)