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arXiv:1709.09180 [astro-ph.GA]AbstractReferencesReviewsResources

The Circumgalactic Medium

Jason Tumlinson, Molly S. Peeples, Jessica K. Werk

Published 2017-09-26Version 1

The gas surrounding galaxies outside their disks or interstellar medium and inside their virial radii is known as the circumgalactic medium (CGM). In recent years this component of galaxies has assumed an important role in our understanding of galaxy evolution owing to rapid advances in observational access to this diffuse, nearly invisible material. Observations and simulations of this component of galaxies suggest that it is a multiphase medium characterized by rich dynamics and complex ionization states. The CGM is a source for a galaxy's star-forming fuel, the venue for galactic feedback and recycling, and perhaps the key regulator of the galactic gas supply. We review our evolving knowledge of the CGM with emphasis on its mass, dynamical state, and coevolution with galaxies. Observations from all redshifts and from across the electromagnetic spectrum indicate that CGM gas has a key role in galaxy evolution. We summarize the state of this field and pose unanswered questions for future research.

Comments: 46 pages, 11 figures. Authors' draft version; see http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-astro-091916-055240 for a well-edited final version and fun supplementary figures
Journal: Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 55, pp. 389-432 (2017)
Categories: astro-ph.GA
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