Alejandro Benitez-Llambay
Italy – Universidad de Milano-Biccoca
What is the minimum dark matter halo mass for galaxies to form?
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Abstract: In recent years, our theoretical understanding of what establishes the onset of galaxy formation on small scales has become increasingly mature, to the point that the halo occupation fraction, namely, the fraction of halos that host a luminous galaxy in their center, is now well understood in terms of the interplay between the dark matter halos’ mass assembly history and the existence of a redshift-dependent critical mass. This enables robust predictions regarding the count of nearby dwarfs and some of their properties, including their gas fraction, HI content, and star formation histories. In this talk, I will highlight the theoretical framework that allows us to come up with these predictions and discuss other consequences of this model that will enable us to constrain the LCDM model on small scales using current and upcoming radio facilities. I will end my talk by discussing current uncertainties and future theoretical directions that may lead to further improvements.