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The interstellar medium plays a central role in the galaxy evolution process; it is the reservoir that fuels galaxy growth via star formation, the repository of material formed by these stars, and a sensitive tracer of internal and external processes that affect entire galaxies (e.g. accretion and feedback). This overview talk will discuss how observations of the interstellar medium are shedding light on the vast range of physics and scales at play in the star formation and galaxy evolution processes, using results from recent observing campaigns with (sub)mm/radio facilities (IRAM, ALMA, JCMT, APEX) as well as large optical spectroscopic surveys (DESI). By connecting these observations with theory and simulations, a picture emerges where galaxy evolution is driven by gas availability on galactic- and molecular cloud-scales and the efficiency of the star formation process out of this gas, depending on local conditions in the interstellar medium. These results highlight the multi-scale nature of star formation and galaxy evolution, and help draw a path forward to understand mass assembly in the Universe.

BIO

Amelie Saintonge is director of the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Germany, and professor of astrophysics at University College London (UK) and the University of Cologne (Germany). She is the Principal Investigator of the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope, and has a extensive track record of leading large galaxy surveys across the radio spectrum. Prof Saintonge is an expert in the study of galaxy evolution, and is at the forefront of researching the impact of different evolutionary mechanisms on the interstellar medium, and how this shapes star formation and the galaxy population.

Host: Cheng Li