We invite you to submit a talk for a splinter session to be held at the AAS in January 2025, on the topic of “The Missing Link of Galaxy Growth,” which will take place on Tuesday, January 14th from 10 AM to 3 PM. We are soliciting 10 – 15 minute talks, plus panelists.

Please follow the link for details and to submit. Please submit your abstract by Dec 2nd 2024.

About the Splinter: The Astro2020 Decadal identified understanding cosmic ecosystems as one of three key priority areas for discovery. The galactic ecosystem is driven by complex interactions between the interstellar medium (ISM), molecular clouds and star formation, and the wider galactic halo interface to the circumgalactic medium (CGM). “The key missing link in unveiling the physics driving galaxy growth is to measure the properties of the diffuse gas within, surrounding, and between galaxies.”

Decisions are now being made that will set the instrument suite of HWO, and it’s important that diffuse gas studies of cosmic ecosystems make a strong case for why their science is valuable and should be considered in the instrument requirements. In particular, understanding the links between the ISM, star forming clouds, feedback, and the CGM is critical for understanding how galaxies grow and evolve.

Topic Overview: To address this science topic, we are holding a splinter session with a focus on how observations of the ISM, molecular clouds, and the CGM can reveal critical details about galaxy evolution and star formation. This splinter is open to all researchers who are interested in studying diffuse gas with observations (with keen interest in spectroscopic techniques) at any wavelength.

As part of these proposed splinter sessions, we also hope to generate additional science ideas for inclusion in an expected 2025 Small Explorers mission concept. This mission will propose a high resolution (R>20,000), wide field, FUV spectrograph, which will represent a new capability for exploring key science questions related to star formation, molecular clouds, and the diffuse ISM and CGM, with an emphasis on FUV tracers such as molecular hydrogen fluorescence and atomic emission lines. But talks are solicited covering any wavelength (including Radio, Infrared, Visible, UV, X-ray, etc.) or topics which relate to these science questions.