This thesis aims to develop an integrated understanding of high-redshift galaxies within their large-scale structures. We will investigate how feedback and nuclear activity from these galaxies affect their environments by coupling observational data with cosmological simulations.
Our primary objectives are to:
1. Advance the diagnostic capabilities for studying diffuse gas.
2. Test and validate current paradigms of gas accretion.
Our observational work will utilize new data from Keck and the Very Large Telescope on Lyman-alpha halos around massive groups and clusters at z>2, which are already largely in hand. We will also incorporate a growing body of data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on the same targets to reveal the properties of galaxies and their active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
On the theoretical side, we will use publicly available results from the TNG100, HORIZON5, and CALIBRE simulations to understand galaxy evolution, learning from both the successes and failures in the comparison with observations. Ultimately, this will allow us to inform new, high-fidelity simulations of the circum-galactic medium, designed specifically to constrain gas accretion processes.
This research directly supports our long-term goal of preparing for the exploitation of BlueMUSE, a new instrument being built for the VLT, in which we participate. It will also address one of the key open questions in astrophysics, as highlighted by the Astro2020 Decadal Survey.