Speaker
Description
The interstellar dust content of a galaxy is closely linked to its star formation. While it is well-established that star-forming galaxies are dust-rich and quiescent galaxies are largely dust-poor, the timeline and drivers of dust depletion immediately following the end of star formation (quenching) remain poorly understood. Understanding this depletion timescale is crucial, as it reveals how quickly dust is destroyed or expelled once the supply from young stars is cut off, offering key insights on the mechanisms driving galaxy evolution.
To look into this transitional period, post-starburst galaxies are ideal targets because they have recently and abruptly quenched, making them useful for tracking the rapid evolution of dust in a post-quenching environment. In this study, we analyze a sample of 78 recently-quenched galaxies, reconstructing their recent star formation histories using spectral fitting. We find a strong correlation indicating rapid dust evolution over very short timescales, linking dust attenuation levels with ages of the galaxies. These findings provide observational hints on dust depletion rates, and we aim to compare these results with cosmological simulations to further investigate the physical mechanisms behind dust destruction.
| Participate the oral/poster presentation award competition | Yes |
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