Collaborative Research: Magellanic dwarfs as a key laboratory for dwarf galaxy formation

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The standard cosmological Dark Matter (DM) scenario predicts that all galaxies are surrounded by DM in a variety of shapes. The investigators seek to understand star formation processes in dwarf galaxies, which is influenced by the shape of DM structures around these ultra-faint galaxies. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the most important dwarf galaxy that orbits our Milky Way, and many of the discoveries of new ultra-faint galaxies over the last few years have been near the LMC. The investigators will numerically model the formation of dwarf galaxies, and they will compare their model predictions to. This research will involve students at both institutions, who will assist in the research and learn computer programming skills. The investigators will generate and analyze new ultra-high-resolution cosmological zoom-in hydrodynamical simulations from the FIRE project to study the formation and evolution of 5 LMC-like halos, to sample different assembly histories and cosmological scatter. By understanding the satellite population of the LMC and LMC-like galaxies, the investigators will constrain the physics of galaxy formation at the smallest scales. The team will run several variations in reionization time, early-universe star formation, and increased resolution, to study their impact on the predicted population of ultra-faint satellites today. This effort will extend the suite of high-resolution zoom-in simulations into the lowest-mass regime of galaxy formation. The investigators address 3 fundamental questions: (1) the counts and masses of ultra-faint satellite galaxies around LMC-like galaxies; (2) the star-formation histories of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies and the impact of internal (e.g. stellar feedback) versus external (e.g. reionization, environmental effects) processes; and (3) the expected stellar halo component around LMC-mass galaxies. They will involve undergraduates from underrepresented groups in their research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.