Title: A morphological and kinematic view of galaxy evolution
Abstract:
The morphological and kinematic properties of galaxies provide valuable insight into the relevant physical processes of galaxy evolution. In this talk, I will present our efforts to characterize galaxy morphology on the star-forming galaxy main sequence, and discuss the relative importance of galaxy interactions. Further, I will demonstrate the limitations of using optical morphology and kinematics as a probe of the physical nature of high-z star-forming galaxies, and how we can correct for this systematics and bias using nearby galaxies as templates and in conjunction with hydrodynamic simulations. Finally, using a set of cosmological simulations from the FIRE project, I will discuss what might be the physical drivers of an enhanced intrinsic velocity dispersion of high-z star-forming galaxies, an important characteristic of high-z galaxies from recent large IFU surveys.