Speaker
Description
Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) plays an essential role in current models of galaxy formation, yet the details of this process remain extremely uncertain. I will describe our work combining numerical simulations with microwave and X-ray observations to better constrain this process. Our team has conducted a series of simulations covering a broad range of feedback properties. At microwave wavelength, we are applying them to make predictions of the thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effects. We have compared these with stacked data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and South Pole Telescope (SPT) to derive AGN feedback constraints, and we describe our plans to improve these limits with the TolTEC camera on the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). At X-ray wavelengths, we are using the simulations to make predictions of soft X-ray emission, and comparing them with stacked eROSITA observations. At the AIP Thinkshop, we hope to stimulate a lively and productive discussion on how such comparisons can best be applied to inform the design of future observational surveys and provide new insights into the history of AGN feedback.
