TAPIR Seminar
Join Zoom Meeting
https://caltech.zoom.us/j/92271559087?pwd=TFQ2YVk2N0FpSzhlR3JvZlFENTUyQT09
As luminous tracers of small dark matter halos, ultra-faint dwarf galaxies offer a unique window into galaxy formation and dark matter physics. Our census of these extremely faint galaxies has drastically improved in recent years due to detailed searches in deep photometric datasets. In this talk, I will interpret these observations in the context of 1) the galaxy--halo connection, reionization physics, and high-redshift galaxy formation, and 2) the microphysical properties of dark matter, including its warmth, Standard Model couplings, and de Broglie wavelength. I will highlight recent work that combines dark matter constraints from dwarf galaxies and strong gravitational lensing, and new simulations that highlight the effects of self-interacting dark matter in Milky Way-like systems.