Lucas Valenzuela is interested in galaxy formation and evolution, and how present-day properties of galaxies can be used as indicators for their formation history. To study these, he works on cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and models of globular clusters and planetary nebulae, which he also uses to compare with observations. Lucas is currently working on his PhD at the University Observatory of Munich, Germany, where he also did his studies.
Title: What's Your Story? Deciphering galaxy formation histories from present-day properties
Abstract: Present-day galaxies still contain a multitude of clues about their formation histories. Diverse morphologies, kinematics, and structures in their outskirts indicate that galaxies can have very different formation pathways. Over the years, our general understanding of galaxy evolution has improved through an increasing amount of observations and simulations. But what about an individual galaxy? What possibilities do we have to decipher the formation history of a single galaxy from its observed present-day properties?
Using a broad range of observables in galaxies and comparing them between observations and simulations, I will show what insights about a galaxy's past can be gained from these measurements. For this, I will use the inner kinematics of galaxies, the low surface brightness structures found in their outskirts, and two types of tracer populations that are typically also used in the outskirts: globular clusters and planetary nebulae.