KIPAC Seminar: Toward a Holistic Picture of the Low-Mass Baryon Cycle

Abstract: The baryon cycle, which encompasses the fueling and feedback that regulate star formation and the gas content of galaxies' halos, is often approached piece-by-piece, with individual processes studied as discrete parts of a larger system. In low-mass galaxies in particular, where there are a relative paucity of observations, this can lead to an incomplete picture of how galaxy formation and evolution are simultaneously governed by internal mechanisms and the cosmic environment in which galaxies reside. In this talk, I will walk through recent efforts to build an integrated view of the baryon cycle in low-mass galaxies, using a combination of observations and simulations to probe the relevant physics on a wide range of scales. Specifically, I will describe several key projects ranging from cloud-scale star formation physics through the interaction of feedback with the circumgalactic medium that together help develop a cohesive and interconnected picture of the most salient processes that govern how galaxies evolve.