The impact of stellar feedback on different spatial scales and galactic environments

Prof. Dr. Stefanie Walch-Gassner, Universität Köln

Stellar feedback refers to the processes by which massive stars release energy, radiation, and material into their surroundings, influencing the structure and evolution of the galaxies in which they reside. Understanding the impact of stellar feedback on different galactic environments is crucial for developing a comprehensive picture of galaxy formation and evolution. In this context, different galactic environments refer to regions within a galaxy that differ in their physical conditions, such as the average gas density, temperature, metallicity, or radiation field.

I will present results from the SILCC (SImulating the Life-Cycle of molecular Clouds) project, in which we study the evolution of the multi-phase interstellar medium in parts of galaxies. In particular, we use these modern three-dimensional simulations to unravel the relative impact of stellar winds, ionizing radiation, and supernovae on the surrounding interstellar gas. From the galactic scale simulations, we find that ionizing radiation is the most important physical process for regulating the star formation rate, while supernovae overpressure the gas substantially, thus driving a galactic outflow. I will show how the star formation process ongoing in the Milky Way and other galaxies can be quantified with these multi-physics numerical simulations.

Prof. Dr. Stefanie Walch-Gassner studierte Physik an der Universität Regensburg und Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Nach ihrer Promotion an der LMU forschte sie als Postdoktorandin an der Cardiff University (Vereinigtes Königreich) und am Max-Planck- Institut für Astrophysik in Garching. Im Jahr 2013 erhielt sie einen Ruf auf eine W3-Professur für theoretische Astrophysik an der Universität zu Köln. 2023 ist Walch-Gassner zur neuen Präsidentin der Astronomischen Gesellschaft gewählt worden.