Lars Hernquist (Harvard University)

Lars Hernquist Colloquium: The IllustrisTNG Project

Marsfield lecture theatre

Abstract

In this talk, I will present an overview of recent progress in simulating galaxy formation on cosmological scales. In particular, we have performed a new series of simulations making up the TNG Project that supersedes the Illustris simulation of a few years ago. TNG incorporates refined models for feedback from stellar evolution and black holes that greatly improve the agreement with basic observables, such as the galaxy stellar mass function at redshift zero. I briefly describe the new models and their success at improving the reality of the simulations and then describe several applications that highlight the insights that the models may provide to help us understand galaxy formation and evolution.