Princeton University Dark Cosmos Seminar

Abstract: Dwarf galaxies, despite (or perhaps because of) their small masses, are puzzles that challenge prevailing cosmological models. As the most common galaxies in the universe, they offer a powerful window into studying dark matter on the smallest scales. However, basic questions around how they form and evolve still remain: How sensitive are these systems to the underlying nature of dark matter? And how do observational limits shape what we can actually detect? In this talk, I will explore how we connect theory to observation using semi-analytic models to populate dark matter halos with galaxies, where these models succeed, and where their limitations begin to matter. I will also discuss efforts to move beyond cold dark matter, and what observable signatures may emerge. Finally, I will place satellite galaxies in a broader context by comparing them in different environments and by linking them to other probes, such as gravitational lensing. Together, these approaches push dark matter constraints to the smallest accessible scales.