UC Berkeley

The flow of gas through the circumgalactic medium (CGM) regulates galaxy growth over cosmic time. Observations have recently revealed a complex multi-phase structure in the CGM that has challenged many of the established theories and highlights significant gaps in our understanding of this critical aspect of galaxy formation. The spatial scales relevant to the CGM span a huge range with its structure and evolution determined by small-scale processes—such as the launching of galactic winds by clustered supernovae and thermal instability in the hydrostatic halo—and large-scale processes—such as cosmological accretion. I will describe my efforts to use controlled numerical simulations to understand the details and interplay of these multi-scale processes in order to develop a coherent picture of the CGM that is consistent with observations.