Talks

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback is known to play a key role in galaxy evolution and in regulating star formation. Studying the interplay between the central AGN and the different gas phases permeating galaxies is crucial to further our understanding of this powerful mechanism. We have observed the central regions of four brightest cluster galaxies at optical wavelengths using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager. With the high-resolution integral field unit data obtained from these observations, we map the fluxes and velocities of both emission lines and stellar absorption lines. This allows for a detailed tracing of gas cooling in galaxy centres. These galaxies have extensive X-ray and radio observations, allowing us to compare the dynamics of different gas phases and to study their interactions. Nebular emission extends up to tens of kiloparsecs from the central cluster galaxies of Abell 1835, PKS 0745-191, Abell 262, and RX J0820.9+0752. With the stellar continua, we map the kinematics and ages of the stars, learning about the systems’ star formation histories. Our findings highlight the complex stellar and gas dynamics which can be induced by radio-mechanical feedback. Surprisingly, three of the four systems have substantial (~ 150 km/s) velocity differences between their central galaxy and its associated nebular gas. This shows that the central galaxy is not at rest with respect to its surrounding nebula. In PKS 0745-191 and Abell 1835, nebular gas is churned up by buoyantly rising bubbles and jets. The churned gas is also surrounded by larger scale, lower velocity dispersion nebular emission. These complex motions will affect thermally unstable cooling, the interactions between the AGN and its atmosphere and how jet energy dissipates in its surroundings. These novel results highlight the deeply complex dynamics of AGN feedback and the multiphase gas in the centre of massive galaxies.

The circum-galactic medium (CGM) is at the nexus of the gas inflows and outflows that regulate galaxy evolution. Consequently, the CGM provides an ideal laboratory for studying galaxy fueling, feedback, and interactions. In the last decade, the simultaneous availability of UV spectra from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, deep integral field spectrographs, and wide galaxy redshift surveys have revolutionized our ability to characterize the CGM empirically. I will review recent progress enabled by the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS) and MUSE Quasar Blind Emitter Survey (MUSEQuBES), which combine these data for 31 intermediate redshift quasar fields. These surveys simultaneously provide for the first studies of physical conditions and abundances of the CGM and IGM around low-mass dwarf galaxies that constrain the physical conditions and abundances of the gas while also enabling the discovery of giant rest-frame optical emission nebulae around quasar hosts. I will highlight enlightening case studies, including filamentary accretion from 100 kpc scales into the ISM of a massive quasar host confirmed by down-the-barrel inflows observed in the UV and the first studies of relative abundances in the CGM/IGM around isolated dwarf galaxies that reveal surprisingly high metallicity and low [C/O] and [N/O] ratios, suggestive of core-collapse supernova outflows with modest mass loading.

Despite a growing body of observational and theoretical work, the connection between galactic-scale feedback processes, the underlying distribution of gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM), and host galaxy properties remains uncertain. Focusing on the latter two points, we present new results on the spatial structure and kinematics of Ly$\alpha$ and several far-UV metallic ions in the CGM of Keck Baryonic Structure Survey (KBSS) galaxies using rest-frame far-UV spectra of foreground/background galaxy pairs with angular separations $\le 30$ arcsec. Medium resolution ($R\simeq 1500$) Keck/KCWI and Keck/LRIS spectra of 736 background galaxies with $\langle z_{\rm bg}\rangle=2.58 \pm 0.38$ probe sightlines through 1033 foreground galaxies ($\langle z_{\rm fg}\rangle=2.03 \pm 0.36$) at projected distances $8\leq D_{\rm tran}/\mathrm{kpc}\leq250$. For each ion, we measure rest-frame equivalent widths ($W_{\lambda}$) as a function of $D_{\rm tran}$; we observe higher ionization species (C IV) decrease less rapidly and extend to larger $D_{\rm tran}$ compared to low ions (O I, C II, Si II). Splitting the pair sample into subsets based on foreground galaxy properties, we find $W_\lambda(\text{C IV})$ exhibits a strong dependence on stellar mass ($M_*$) and a weaker dependence on star formation rate. Similarly, $W_\lambda(\text{Ly}\alpha)$ increases with $M_*$, albeit with more scatter. In 2D, we map the excess Ly$\alpha$ and C IV absorption as functions of line-of-sight velocity and $D_{\rm tran}$ and fit the observed Ly$\alpha$ map with a simple two-component model. Combining the 1D and 2D trends, we discuss the improved constraints these results place on CGM gas-phase kinematics in the context of previous studies at $z\sim 2$.

The baryon cycle of a galaxy involves a dynamic interplay between its star-forming disk and the environment of its virial halo, or circumgalatic medium. Simulations and observations agree that winds are a key seeding mechanism for the CGM, which serves as a reservoir for metals produced in disks. Cool clouds are predicted to form in the CGM from cooling halo gas, and are observed in absorbing sightlines to background quasars. This cloud growth may be accelerated by the action of winds. However, directly imaging the cold-hot interaction is extremely challenging, as most of the cooling channels lie in the UV and X-ray. I will present a deep image of OVI 1032, 1038 A and Lyman-alpha in the footprint of a prominent galactic wind. The OVI-emitting gas follows the morphology observed in lines at optical wavelengths. This represents only the second image of OVI in the halo or CGM of a galaxy, and is a signpost of cloud growth at large radii as the wind and CGM interact. This detection will help motivate further attempts to image the CGM-in-formation with existing or future facilities. It will also help inform models and simulations of the wind-CGM interaction.

The intergalactic medium (IGM) represents the dominant reservoir of baryons at high red- shift, traces the architecture of the cosmic web dominated by dark matter, and fuels on-going galaxy evolution. Using a purpose-built instrument, with nod-and-shuffle and dual-field subtraction, we have detected, for the first time, an emission Lyman α forest (ELAF). The emission forest is highly extended, shows filamentary morphology with filaments connecting galaxies, exhibits statistics like the absorption Lyman α forest, displays spectra resembling the absorption forest, and is correlated with galaxy-traced overdensities consistent with bias like dark matter. We conclude that the ELAF may provide a new tool for tracing a significant fraction of the cosmic web of baryons and dark matter. Finally, I will present status of the STABLE Cosmic Web Imager (SCWI) program, a Brinson Exploration Hub balloon experiment, focused on emission from the Circum-QSO, the Circum-Galactic Medium, and the cosmic web. SCWI offers the opportunity to image the cosmic web in the local universe for the first time, and compare its properties to those at high redshift.

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) serves as the interface between galaxies and their cosmic environment, hosting the baryon cycle across a wide range of temperatures, densities, and energy scales. With its unprecedented sensitivity and spectral coverage, JWST is revolutionizing our view of this cycle by enabling direct detection of warm molecular hydrogen via mid-infrared rotational lines. We present a detailed analysis of the multi-phase molecular gas in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) of the cool-core cluster MACS1931-26 (z = 0.35), combining new **JWST/MIRI** and archival **ALMA** observations. This BCG hosts a powerful radio-loud AGN, elevated star formation, and one of the largest known H₂ reservoirs at this redshift. We trace cold molecular gas (10–100 K) using multiple CO and [CI] lines, finding highly excited gas in the ISM, similar to local LIRGs, while the CGM appears much less excited, pointing to distinct excitation sources. Our JWST data reveal warm H₂ (100–1000 K) spatially coincident with the CO-emitting gas and exhibiting comparable kinematics. Intriguingly, the CGM shows a higher H₂ excitation temperature than the ISM, suggesting the presence of more energetic heating mechanisms, including shocks and AGN-driven X-ray emission. This highlights the CGM as a key site of feedback-regulated gas transformation. Moreover, we will discuss our plans to use upcoming JWST Cycle 4 **NIRCam + MIRI** spectroscopy (2–28 μm) to perform comprehensive radiative transfer and shock modeling, aiming to constrain heating sources and baryon cycle in the CGM and ISM. This pilot study lays the groundwork for a broader framework to trace baryon cycling in cool-core BCGs, leveraging the synergy of JWST and cold gas tracers as a transformative tool for CGM studies.

In massive galaxies a significant fraction by mass of the circumgalactic medium is expected to be in the hot, X-ray emitting phase. Little is known about this gas since it is faint and is outshone by the Milky Way's own hot circumgalactic medium, and X-ray observatories with CCDs are unable to distinguish the emission lines of the former from the latter. Future observatories with X-ray IFUs would be able to measure key emission lines of the hot CGM, and use them to map the velocity structure of this phase. In this talk, I will show predictions from galaxies from a range of cosmological simulations for the velocity field of the hot CGM, showing signatures of rotation, inflows, and outflows from AGN and SNe feedback. Crucially, the velocity structure depends on the feedback model used, so that future observations may be used to constrain models used in cosmological simulations.

I will present new constraints on the halo masses and gas fractions of DESI galaxy groups via cross-correlations with the ACT DR6 CMB lensing map. This lensing-based calibration addresses a key uncertainty in interpreting kSZ measurements: the underlying halo mass distribution and allows us to estimate the amount by which baryons have been redistributed relative to the dark matter. Our results indicate that while baryons trace dark matter on large scales, the gas is significantly more extended, with cumulative gas fractions falling well below predictions from hydrodynamical simulations like TNG300. These discrepancies, seen at 4σ significance or higher, point to strong feedback processes in the real Universe. I will also highlight the excellent agreement between our lensing-based gas fraction measurements and recent results from X-rays, and discuss the implications for modeling feedback, galaxy formation, and baryon cycling in halos.