L'évolution des galaxies implique un apport de gaz «froid» depuis la toile cosmique. Mais les modèles l'intégrant induisent des galaxies plus riches en baryons que les galaxies observées. Pour surmonter ce problème, les théoriciens comptent sur une formation d'étoiles rendue inefficace par une éjection massive de gaz par les disques en formation stellaire. J'explore une voie différente en étudiant les processus qui peuvent modérer l'accrétion de gaz. Nous présentons un scénario phénoménologique où le gaz accrété, s'il y a un choc viriel, devient biphasique et turbulent. Nous montrons que ce développement se produit pour des halos de ~ 10^11 à 10^13 Msol, où la majeure partie des étoiles est déjà formée dans les galaxies. Le gaz provenant de filaments intergalactiques (FIG) peut finalement perdre sa cohérence et se mélanger avec le gaz ambiant du halo. L'interaction directe entre les éjections galactiques et l'accrétion est accrue. Modérer ainsi l'efficacité de l'accrétion peut aider à surmonter l'important défi évoqué. En utilisant le code Ramses, j'ai effectué une simulation ciblée et extrait les résultats pour un FIG accrétant sur un halo de ~ 3 10^11 Msol à z ~ 2. J'ai étudié la thermodynamique et la structuration de la matière, le long et à travers le FIG. J'ai suivi l'évolution de plusieurs quantités importantes le long du FIG et dérivé un cadre plus précis pour étudier les FIG, ainsi que les conséquences sur leur sort après avoir pénétré dans un halo. J'utilise enfin ces résultats pour extrapoler les processus que la simulation peut ne pas avoir capturés avec précision. / We now understand theoretically that galaxy evolution involves inflows of “cold” gas from the cosmic web. But corresponding models grow galaxies with amounts of baryons larger than observed galaxies. To overcome this issue, theorists focus on making star formation inefficient by massively blowing gas out of star-forming disks. I explore a different road, investigating processes that may moderate gas accretion onto disks. We present a phenomenological scenario where gas accretion flows – if it is shocked – become biphasic and, as a result, turbulent. In this framework, we show that the formation of warm, turbulent clouds, embedded in a hot component, occurs in the important mass range of ∼ 10^11 − 10^13 Msun, where the bulk of stars have formed in galaxies. Gas accreted from intergalactic filaments (IGF) may eventually lose coherence and mix with the ambient halo gas. The direct interaction between galaxy feedback and accretion streams is thus more likely. Moderating the accretion efficiency may help to alleviate a number of significant challenges in theoretical galaxy formation. Using the code Ramses, I performed a zoom-in simulation and extracted the results for a particular accreting IGF into a halo of ∼ 3 10^11 Msun at z ∼ 2. I investigate the gas thermodynamics and structuration, along and across the filament, with respect to dark matter. I study several key quantities as they evolve along the filament and derive a refined paradigm to study filaments, as well as consequences regarding their fate after entering a halo. I finally make use of these results to extrapolate gas processes that the simulation may not have captured accurately.

Le modèle cosmolgique standard Λ-CDM est celui qui connaît le plus grand succès dans la cosmologie moderne. Pourtant, malgré sa capacité à expliquer la domination de la matière noire sur la structuration de l'univers à grande échelle, il échoue, parfois dramatiquement, lorsque la physique complexe de la matière baryonique entre en jeu. En particulier, l'une des plus grandes questions restant encore sans réponse concerne la différence importante entre la quantité de matière baryonique prédite et celle réellement observée dans les halos de galaxies de faible et de grande masse (e.g. Behroozi et al., 2013b). Les modèles théoriques prédisent beaucoup trop de masse comparé à ce qui est véritablement observé, ce qui mène à la conclusion qu'il existe des mécanismes permettant d'éjecter une partie du réservoir de matière baryonique des galaxies, ce qui affectera donc leur évolution. En d'autres termes, si nous voulons comprendre l'évolution des galaxies, il est essentiel de comprendre de manière précise comment ces galaxies perdent une partie de leur matière baryonique. Pour les galaxies de faibles masses, un ingrédient clé est contenu dans les vents produits par les explosions de supernovae (Dekel & Silk, 1986). Non seulement ces vents peuvent être efficaces pour éjecter le gaz et les métaux du disque galactique, pour enrichir le milieu inter-galactique en éléments lourds (Oppenheimer et al., 2010), mais ils sont aussi observés dans presque toutes les galaxies à formation d'étoiles (Veilleux et al., 2005a), ce qui donne à ces vents un rôle important concernant le cycle de la matière dans les galaxies. Notre connaissance incomplète concernant les relations entre la galaxie et les propriétés du gaz qu'elle éjecte, comme le lien entre le taux de formation stellaire (SFR) et la quantité de masse éjectée Mout , limite notre capacité à produire des simulations numériques précises sur l'évolution des galaxies. L'objectif de cette thèse est de quantifier les propriétés des vents galactiques en utilisant des quasars en arrière plan et la spectroscopie 3D. Afin d'y parvenir, nous utiliserons une quantité importante de données provenant de plusieurs instruments (SDSS, LRIS au Keck, SINFONI, UVES et MUSE au VLT). Grâce à cette nouvelle stratégie d'observation et l'utilisation d'instruments de pointe, nous avons pu augmenter l'échantillon d'un ordre de grandeur et ainsi obtenir de bien meilleures contraintes sur les propriétés du gaz qui s'échappe des galaxies de faible masse. / The Λ-CDM model is one of the most resounding triumphs of modern cosmology. Yet, even though it is immensely successful at explaining the dark matter dominated large scale structures, it fails, sometimes dramatically, when the complex physics of baryonic matter comes into play. In particular, one of the major remaining discrepancies is between the observed and predicted baryonic densities of the dark matter halos of galaxies both in the high mass and low mass regimes (e.g. Behroozi et al., 2013b). Theoretical models predict much more mass than is actually observed, leading to the conclusion that there are mechanisms at play ejecting part of the baryonic matter reservoir from galaxies and therefore affecting their evolution. In other words, if we want to understand the evolution of galaxies, it is essential to understand precisely how galaxies lose a fraction of their baryonic matter. For low mass galaxies, a key part of the solution lies on supernovae-driven outflows (Dekel & Silk, 1986). Not only can such outflows efficiently expel gas and metals from galactic disks, enriching the inter-galactic medium (Oppenheimer et al., 2010), they are also observed in almost every star-forming galaxy (Veilleux et al., 2005a), making them an important part of the matter cycle of galaxies in general. Our incomplete knowledge of scaling relations between galaxies and the properties of their outflowing material, such as between the star formation rate (SFR) and the ejected mass rate Mout, limits our ability to produce accurate numerical simulations of galaxy evolution. The objective of this thesis is to quantify galactic wind properties using background quasars and 3D spectroscopy. In order to achieve our goal, we use large data sets from several instruments (SDSS, LRIS at Keck, SINFONI, UVES and MUSE on VLT). After developing observational strategies in order to have the largest data set possible with this technique, we increased the number of observations by 1 order of magnitude which resulted in better constraints on the outflowing materials for the low mass galaxies.

Cette étude concerne le distribution spatiale du système des satellites de M31. Une nouvelle technique bayésienne pour la détermination des distances d'objets basé sur le point-final des magnitudes des géants Rouges a été développé et utilisé pour obtenir des distributions de probabilité à distance pour les M31 et 27 de ses galaxies satellites. Ces distances sont ensuite utilisés pour calculer les positions des satellites en trois dimensions. Une analyse ultérieure de la distribution spatiale qui en résulte révèle hétérogénéité frappante, avec près de la moitié des satellites confinés à un disque curieusement orienté mince. La distribution est aussi fortement asymétrique, avec la majorité des satellites se trouvant sur le côté de la Voie Lactée M31. / This study focuses on the spatial distribution of the M31 satellite system. A new Bayesian technique for determining object distances from the Tip of their Red Giant Branch is developed and used to obtain distance probability distributions for M31and 27 of its satellite galaxies. These distances are then used to calculate the satellite positions in three dimensions. Subsequent analysis of the resulting spatial distribution reveals striking inhomogeneity, with roughly half of the satellites confined to a curiously oriented thin disk. The distribution is also markedly asymmetric, with the majority of satellites lying on the Milky Way side of M31.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / We determine the stellar mass of star forming galaxies in the X-ray luminous cluster MS 0451.6-0305 at z ∼ 0.54. The stellar masses are estimated from fitting model spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to deep, optical UBRIz observations obtained from WIYN 3.5m telescope and public NIR K-band image from Palomar Observatory telescope. The model SEDs are based on the stellar population synthesis (SPS) model of Bruzual & Charlot (2003) and Conroy et al. (2009) that span a wide range of age, star formation history, Initial Mass Function (IMF), metallicity and dust content. We measure stellar masses for galaxies down to M∗∼2×10⁸M(.) We find a tight correlation between stellar masses derived from the two SPSs. We compare the derived stellar masses to the dynamical masses for a set of 25 star forming galaxies. The dynamical masses are derived from high resolution, spectroscopic observations of emission lines from the DEIMOS spectrograph on the Keck telescope. A strong correlation is seen between the dynamical and stellar mass for the galaxies; and the star forming galaxies show fairly constant ratio between stellar and dynamical mass. When comparing to the field sample of Guzm ́an et al. (2003) of luminous compact blue galaxies, we see an excess of low mass galaxies in the cluster. / South Africa

We present a catalog of the neutral atomic hydrogen structures (H I holes) and the analysis of their properties in nearby (≤ 10.3 Mpc) gas-rich dwarf galaxies of the LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H I Nearby Galaxy Survey) group. We used high sensitivity (≤ 1.1 mJy beam-1 channel-1), high velocity resolution (1.3 km s-1 to 2.6 km s-1) and high linear resolution (average ~110 pc; angular resolution ~6”) H I data of 37 dwarf irregulars and four blue compact dwarf galaxies. We cataloged H I holes in the entire sample and studied the of the properties of holes. We also investigated the effect of H I porosity on star formation, and the correlation of the star formation rate (SFR) calculated from H I holes with standard star formation tracers Hα and FUV. We detected 306 H I holes in LITTLE THINGS galaxies. We confirmed 22 kpc-sized holes, the largest and the smallest hole diameters are about 2.3 kpc and 38 pc (resolution limit) respectively. The expansion velocities of the holes range from 5 km s-1 (upper limit) to 30 km s-1, and the rotational velocities range from 6 km s-1 to 77 km s-1. The H I disk radii of the galaxies range from about 0.5 kpc to 6.7 kpc. The kinetic ages of the holes range from about 1 to 127 Myr, and the estimated scale heights are varying from 61 pc to 653 pc. The percentage distribution of the holes outside and inside the V-band break radius is nearly uniform, 49% and 51% respectively. In LITTLE THINGS galaxies, we found no obvious correlation between the surface and volume porosities, and SFR. However, two highest and two lowest porosity galaxies have no star formation at present. The holes are consistent with the SFR estimated from the energy required to create a hole and the star formation rates measured from Hα and FUV, indicating that the holes are consistent with a star formation origin.

In a magnetized plasma, naturally occurring pressure anisotropies facilitate instabilities that are expected to modify the transport properties of the system. In this thesis we examine two such instabilities and, where appropriate, their effects on transport. First we consider the collisional (fluid) magnetized magnetorotational instability (MRI) in the presence of the Braginskii viscosity. We conduct a global linear analysis of the instability in a galactic rotation profile for three magnetic field configurations: purely azimuthal, purely vertical and slightly pitched. Our analysis, numerical and asymptotic, shows that the first two represent singular configurations where the Braginskii viscosity's primary role is dissipative and the maximum growth rate is proportional to the Reynolds number when this is small. For a weak pitched field, the Braginskii viscosity is destabilising and when its effects dominate over the Lorentz force, the growth rate of the MRI can be up to 2√2 times faster than the inviscid limit. If the field is strong, an over-stability develops and both the real and imaginary parts of the frequency increase with the coefficient of the viscosity. Second, in the context of the ICM of galaxy clusters, we consider the pressure-anisotropy-driven firehose instability. The linear instability is fast (~ ion cyclotron period) and small-scale (ion Larmor radius ρi) and so fluid theory is inapplicable. We determine its nonlinear evolution in an ab initio kinetic calculation (for parallel gradients only). We use a particular physical asymptotic ordering to derive a closed nonlinear equation for the firehose turbulence, which we solve. We find secular (α t) growth of magnetic fluctuations and a k-||3 spectrum, starting at scales >~ ρi. When a parallel ion heat flux is present, the parallel firehose instability mutates into the new gyrothermal instability. Its nonlinear evolution also involves secular magnetic energy growth, but its spectrum is eventually dominated by modes with a maximal scale ~ρilT/λmfp,(lT is the parallel temperature gradient scale). Throughout we discuss implications for modelling, transport and other areas of magnetized plasma physics.

No description available.

Deux problématiques sont abordées dans cette thèse: la formation de galaxies spirales et la détection de la matière noire (MN).Nous étudions trois simulations cosmologiques hydrodynamiques de haute résolution zoomées sur des halos de propriétés similaires à celui de la Voie Lactée que nous réalisons avec le code à grille adaptative RAMSES. Nous analysons les distributions d'étoiles et de gaz et constatons qu'une de nos galaxies simulées possèdent des propriétés intéressantes par rapport à la Voie Lactée. Nous obtenons un disque stellaire étendu et une courbe de rotation plate avec la vitesse de rotation et la densité locale de MN en accord avec les observations. En ce qui concerne la distribution de MN, nous analysons l'interaction avec les baryons et nous montrons explicitement comment le profil de densité de MN est aplatie par les processus de feedback.Dans le cadre de cette simulation, nous étudions les incertitudes astrophysiques sur la détection directe en analysant les quantités importantes comme la densité locale de MN, sa distribution de vitesse et la vitesse d'échappement locale. De plus, nous considérons plusieurs sélections de distribution de MN et d'étoiles et estimons ainsi la variabilité du taux de détection.Dans le cadre cohérent de la simulation, nous calculons les signaux d'annihilation et de désintégration de MN en rayons gamma ainsi que le fond diffus, que nous modélisons en utilisant les explosions de supernovae comme sources de rayons cosmiques qui produisent les rayons gamma par spallation sur la distribution de gaz. Les configurations de la matière noire et des baryons induisent une situation défavorable à la détection indirecte de la MN. / The thesis tackles two topics: the formation of spiral galaxies and the detection of dark matter (DM).We study three high resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-sized halos including a comparison with the corresponding DM-only runs performed with the code RAMSES. We analyze the stellar and gas distribution and find one of our simulated galaxies with interesting Milky Way like features with regard to several observational tests. We obtain an extended disk and a flat rotation curve with a circular velocity and a DM density in the solar neighborhood that are in agreement with observations. Following observational procedures, we rederive the stellar-to-halo mass ratio and obtain competitive values for this criterion. Concerning the DM distribution, we explicitly show the interaction with the baryons and show how the DM is first contracted by star formation and then cored by feedback processes.In the framework of the simulation, we analyze the astrophysical uncertainties relevant for direct detection by studying the involved quantities like the local DM density, the DM velocity distribution and the local escape velocity . Furthermore, we consider various selections of DM and star distributions and estimate the variability of the detection rate.Within the self-consistent framework of the simulation, we calculate the DM annihilation and decay gamma ray (GR) signals as well as the diffuse GR background, that we model using the supernovae explosions as cosmic ray sources which produce GRs by spallation on the gas distribution. The cored DM profile and the high central baryonic densities induce a challenging configuration for indirect DM detection.

We employ observational data about the largest cosmic void and most massive galaxy cluster known to date, the 'Cold Spot' void and the 'El Gordo' cluster, in order to constrain the parameter |fR0| from the f(R) gravity formulation by Hu and Sawicki and the matter power spectrum normalization at present time, σ8. We obtain the marginalized posterior distribution for these two parameters through a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis, where the likelihood function is modeled through extreme value statistics. The prior distribution for the additional cosmological parameters included in the computations (Ωdmh2, Ωbh2, h and ns) is matched to recent constraints. By combining the likelihood functions for both voids and clusters, we obtain a mean value log|fR0| = -5.1 ± 1.6, which is compatible with General Relativity (log|fR0| ≤-8) at 95% confidence level, but suggests a preference for a non-negligible modified gravity correction.

Stellar wind bow shocks are structures created when stellar winds with supersonic relative velocities interact with the local interstellar medium (ISM). They can be studied to understand the properties of stars as well as the ISM. Since bow shocks are asymmetric, light becomes polarized by scattering in the regions of enhanced density they create. We use a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code calle SLIP to simulate the polarization signatures produced by both resolved and unresolved bow shocks with analytically derived shapes and density structures. When electron scattering is the polarizing mechanism, we find that optical depth plays an important role in the polarization signatures. While results for low optical depths reproduce theoretical predictions, higher optical depths produce higher polarization and position angle rotations at specific viewing angles. This is due to the geometrical properties of the bow shock along with multiple scattering effects. For dust scattering, we find that the polarization signature is strongly affected by wavelength, dust size, dust composition, and viewing angle. Depending on the viewing angle, the polarization magnitude may increase or decrease as a function of wavelength. We will present results from these simulations and preliminary comparisons with observational data.