Seminar: The hierachical build-up of the Tully-Fisher relation.

Dr Chiara Tonini 

University of Melbourne

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Download the pdf poster.

The evolution of the Tully-Fisher relation can be used as a tool to study the assembly of galaxies in a hierarchical context. I will present the predictions of a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation regarding the TF relation up to redshift z~1, in various photometric bands.

I will discuss how the comparison with observations highlights merits and flaws of the current models. Among the problems, the most relevant seems to involve unrealistic star-formation histories in spiral galaxies. A morphological differentiation of the TF is predicted and observed, but the hierarchical assembly mechanism prevents the model from matching the slope at thehigh-mass end.