Title: A novel view of the Milky Way disk and outer Solar system

Abstract: Combining big survey data with advanced statistical analysis is a fruitful approach to new discoveries. I will present two examples.   (1) One is a new mapping technique to provide for the first time a clear and flat view of the phase space of Milky Way disk. Applying it to Gaia data, we found sharp new structures with order-of-unity contrast in number density and metallicity. It opens a new window to study galactic dynamics, calling for theoretical explanation and observational search for similar structures in other disk galaxies.  (2) Another example is a new algorithm searching for moving objects from imaging survey. Applying it to cosmological surveys, I found a dwarf planet with the widest orbit in the Solar system, which places an interesting challenge to the Planet Nine / Planet X hypothesis.

Title: Warm ionized gas filaments in non-central early-type galaxies

Abstract: Filamentary multiphase gas is nearly ubiquitously found within the brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) of cool-core clusters and is likely related to the feeding and feedback of their supermassive black holes. Determining how such filaments form is crucial to understanding the interplay between baryon cycling, active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, and the evolution of early-type galaxies (ETG). However, BCGs account for only a small percentage of all ETGs and their gaseous atmospheres are thought to be strongly influenced by the extreme, dense cluster environments in which they reside. In this talk, I will present the results of our multiwavelength analysis of 126 nearby ETGs that sit outside of the immediate cores of galaxy groups and clusters (hereafter “non-central” ETGs) - which aims to bridge our current understanding of filamentary multiphase gas formation to the greater ETG population. Using archival VLT-MUSE observations, we find that 54 of these non-central ETGs have detected warm ionized gas. 35 out of these 54 sources host warm gas in the form of rotating disks, while the remaining 19 host filamentary warm gas - resemblant of that observed in BCGs. I will discuss how the MUSE data, in tandem with archival Chandra X-ray observations, allows us to infer that the warm filaments originate from the cooling, thermally-unstable hot halos. Furthermore, I will share the results of our emission line analysis that probe the ionizing mechanisms capable of powering the warm filaments.

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Zoom Link: https://uky.zoom.us/j/82910452708

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Title: How "Little Red Dots" Broke the Universe (and how we're unbreaking it)

Abstract: One of the biggest mysteries of the early era of JWST's operation has been "Little Red Dots," compact sources with strange V shaped spectral energy distributions and broad emission lines. These sources have been incredibly hard to model, and over the course of three years, leading theories have ranged from over-massive galaxies that assembled Milky Way levels of stellar mass in the first Gyr of cosmic time to over-massive active galactic nuclei that defy models of black hole assembly. I will walk through the brief history of discover in this sources, demonstrating how we have slowly been getting closer and closer to understanding them by leveraging JWST, ALMA, and several other observatories to constrain their panchromatic spectral energy distribution. I will discuss our current best understanding of these sources, and how we might move forward to incorporate them into our picture of galaxy and black hole assembly.

Dr. Adam Smercina, Space Telescope Science Institute

Title: A New Era of Galaxy Evolution using Resolved Stars

Abstract: The varied and dynamic evolutionary histories of galaxies give rise to their stunning diversity in the present-day universe. Inferring these histories requires accessing the information encoded in their longest-lived visible components: stars. We are in an exciting new frontier, with a fleet of current and upcoming observatories capable of accessing the resolved stellar populations within and around external galaxies. In this talk, I will first summarize my efforts to chart the merger histories of nearby galaxies by surveying the stars in their accreted halos, including the exciting potential of the upcoming Roman Space Telescope. I will then discuss my efforts to trace the evolution of these galaxies star formation and structure, particularly as a consequence of their merger histories, through high-resolution surveys of their main bodies. In particular, I will highlight several large programs with JWST, which has opened up an exciting new frontier for this science. Over the next decade, these efforts with JWST and Roman have the potential to transform our view of galaxy evolution. To close, I will discuss how this current pioneering work with JWST will pave way for the next paradigm shift in resolved star science: the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Abstract:
We now believe that every large galaxy hosts a supermassive black
hole at its core, with masses ranging from millions to billions of
times that of our Sun. At times, these black holes are actively
accreting, causing the nuclei of the galaxies to shine brightly
across the electromagnetic spectrum. However, in many, perhaps
most quasars, obscuring material along the line of sight shields
us from directly viewing the inner nucleus. This obscuring material
is heated, and emits strongly in the mid-infrared. The Wide-field
Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has recently mapped the entire
sky in mid-infrared light with exquisite depth and clarity. WISE
has allowed us to find luminous quasars across the whole sky due
to this heated material, more than tripling the number of quasars
known. I will discuss several surprising new insights into quasars
that have come out of this work. In brief, the dominant paradigms
do not match our observations, with potentially important implications
for the role of quasars in the growth of galaxies. I will conclude
by discussing how these studies will be further enabled by the
Euclid and WFIRST satellites.