Room:
SO N210 [1]
Susan Kassin, STScI
The Formation of Disk Galaxies
One of the most important open issues in astronomy is the assembly of galactic disks.
I approach this subject from an observational perspective, tracing the kinematic
evolution of star-forming galaxies since a redshift of 1, or over the last 8 billion
years of the universe. I will discuss recent results that show the progressive
(and mass-dependent) assembly of disk galaxies over this time period. I will also
introduce a mass threshold, below which disk formation is not guaranteed in today's
universe. These results strongly challenge the traditional analytic model of galaxy
formation and provide an important benchmark for simulations.