BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
BEGIN:VEVENT
SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-8509
DTSTART:20231211T180000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260416T091653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231116T184309Z
LOCATION:B343 Sterling
SUMMARY:Discovery\, Demographics\, and Dark Matter Implications of Fai
 nt Dwarf Galaxies in Wide-area Optical Surveys\, Thesis Defense\, Mitc
 h McNanna\, Physics PhD Graduate Student
DESCRIPTION:The combined sky coverage and depth of modern wide-area gr
 ound-based optical imaging surveys\, in particular the Dark Energy Sur
 vey\, have made possible the discovery and cataloging of the least lum
 inous known galaxies. The demographics of faint dwarf galaxies through
 out our local environment and the properties of the smallest individua
 l ultrafaint galaxies have broad implications for astrophysics. I have
  designed and implemented search algorithms to identify faint dwarf ga
 laxies both within the gravitational influence of the Milky Way and be
 yond out to the edges of the Local Group. The census of ultrafaint Mil
 ky Way satellites has placed competitive constraints on several altern
 ative dark matter models\, established the importance of the Large Mag
 ellanic Cloud in the formation of our local galactic environment\, and
  increased our understanding of the connection between the smallest ga
 laxies and the dark matter halos that host them. The search for faint 
 field dwarf galaxies beyond the Milky Way uncovered one of the most di
 ffuse dwarf galaxies ever discovered\, the largest galaxy known at its
  luminosity. By comparing the current catalog of nearby dwarf galaxies
  to the results of searches over simulated versions of the Local Group
 \, I conclude that we have likely exhausted the power of searches for 
 resolved stellar populations in current wide-area sky coverage. Lookin
 g forward\, this work informs what we might expect to discover in futu
 re surveys covering new areas of sky or with deeper data and how these
  discoveries will change our understanding of the particle properties 
 of dark matter and the nature of galaxy formation.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=8509
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR