NAASC Workshop on "Observational Evidence of Gas Accretion onto Galaxies?"

Focus of the workshop:

Based on theoretical expectations and simulations in the framework of the standard ΛCDM model, "baryonic infall into dark matter haloes" is a widely accepted basic process in the formation and evolution of galaxies.  Nevertheless, we are mindful that "The importance of gas infall is as clear from numerical simulations as it is obscure to observations."  (Sanchez Almeida, J., et al, 2014)

So, the workshop will focus on examining direct observational evidence of the putative process of concentrating the baryon content of the universe into dark haloes, by reviewing

(1)  the latest observations on the IGM and CGM at different redshifts (largely from quasar absorption lines), filaments in the IGM (from emission of the large scale diffuse ionized gas), the intra-cluster medium (from X-ray/UV/OIR and high resolution SZE measurements), and neutral IGM (HI, CO, NH+, CII, ...),

(2)  the exchange of gas (of all phases) between the IGM/CGM and the galaxies/haloes (actual accretion and outflow) in the general field, group and cluster environments and in the larger structure of filaments, and

(3)  the future directions of observations, in order to delineate observationally the important processes of mass exchange between galaxies and the IGM, using ALMA, Jansky VLA, HI intensity mapping, EoR HI pathfinders, CO intensity mapping, SKA/NBT, OIR telescopes, UV/X-ray missions, etc.  Very importantly, should there be special purpose instruments or telescopes/missions considered to facilitate the necessary observations of accretion onto galaxies?