https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/programs/cosmic-origins/community/dgce-sig-seminar-27-aug-2026

The DGCE Science Interest Group invites you to the next seminar: August 27th, at 4:00  pm ET / 1:00 pm PT . This is an excellent opportunity to stay connected with the broader diffuse gas and cosmic ecosystems community. This seminar will feature talk given by Ohio State University Professor and Department Chair Todd Thompson on galactic wind physics and phenomenology.

Open Questions in Galactic Wind Physics and Phenomenology

Speaker: Todd Thompson | Professor and Department Chair, Ohio State University

Abstract:

Galactic winds are a critical ingredient in our recipes for galaxy formation and evolution. They are multi-phase and multi-dynamical. The physics of the ubiquitous cool and cold outflowing high velocity gas seen from rapidly star-forming galaxies remains uncertain and perhaps unknown. I will present recent work designed to shed light on these questions, with a focus on how to produce cool atomic and warm photo-ionized gas at high velocities. One idea is to precipitate the cool gas from the super-heated hot phase on scales outside the host galaxy. Another option is to directly accelerate the cool gas from the galaxy with momentum injection, perhaps provided by cosmic rays, radiation pressure on dust grains, or a putative fast, hot wind. I will highlight the challenges and open questions on both the observational and theoretical fronts, and connect to observational constraints on physical scales ranging from molecular clouds to the near-galactic medium and the circumgalactic medium.