TAPIR Seminar

The way galaxies stop forming new stars (quenching) is a key aspect of galaxy evolution. This is connected with removal of gas, the fuel of star formation. I will review what we know about the mechanism of the removal of interstellar medium (ISM) from galaxies and how fast this process is. I will then present an alternative way to study the ISM removal by selecting dusty early-type galaxies, for which the decrease of gas and dust can be tracked as a function of the age. This led to the first direct measurement of the ISM removal timescale and to the conclusion that the cold ISM is likely removed by feedback from old stellar populations.