7–11 Dec 2026
The University of Sydney
Australia/Sydney timezone
AIP Congress 2026

Causal analysis of the theoretical impact of environment on galaxy stellar spin

Not scheduled
20m
Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Belinda Hutchinson Building

The University of Sydney

Abercrombie St & Codrington St NSW 2008
Contributed Oral AIP | Astronomy (ASTRO)

Description

Over the past decades, spatially resolved spectroscopic studies have confirmed that galaxies come in two broad dynamical families: fast vs. slow rotators. Slow rotators are on average older, more likely to have higher stellar masses and typically found in denser environments. With age and stellar mass being the strongest predictors of galaxy spin, the diminishing influence of environment has recently been put into question.
To help explain observational trends and ascertain the role of nurture in galaxy spin, we turn to causal inference using a Bayesian mixture model applied to 3 hydrodynamical cosmological simulations (EAGLE, Magneticum and Illustris-TNG100). In this talk, I will show that the effect and mechanism of influence of environment on galaxy spin is model-dependent. The statistical framework shows promising delineating power to help detangle the possible impact and mechanism of influence of environment on galaxy spin, providing new observational constrain for model specifications in hydrodynamical cosmological simulations.

I am the presenting author Yes

Author

Caroline Foster (University of New South Wales)

Presentation materials

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