Collaborative Research: Discriminating Between Galactic Feedback Models with Next Generation Observations

Stars form in galaxies from cool gas, but the act of star formation and the evolution of those stars can reheat the gas or blow it away. This stellar feedback on the growth and evolution of galaxies is an important part of understanding how galaxies grow over cosmological time. The project will use their own model for stellar feedback within larger cosmology simulations. They will produce thousands of simulated galaxies that can be compared with observed galaxies to better understand the influences of feedback in cosmology. The project will also establish a field trip program for middle school students in underserved school districts in Florida. The students will visit the local Santa Fe planetarium. The project will assess the impact of this program using the University of Florida Center for Precollegiate Education and Teaching. The project will incorporate an existing explicit stellar feedback model (Smuggle) into the existing AREPO cosmological simulation code. Smuggle models gas cooling, star formation, and stellar feedback. AREPO is the basis for the Illustric cosmological simulations. The project will self-consistently produce thousands of galaxies from within these simulations that can then be compared with observations. The bulk of the broader impacts of this project will be performed at the University of Florida. The project will establish a field trip program for middle school students in underserved school districts in Florida. The students will visit the local Santa Fe planetarium. The project will assess the impact of this program using the University of Florida Center for Precollegiate Education and Teaching. 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.