Abstract:
While galaxies have been observed and studied for a great many years, there are still unresolved questions regarding their structure. Most notably, the driving forces behind their spiral arm and bar features are not fully understood; are they classical density waves, dynamic and recurrent, tidally induced features, or something more exotic? Each mechanism has strengths and weaknesses, predicting subtle differences in the dynamics and internal structure (e.g. giant molecular cloud properties). My work focusses on understanding the origin of galactic morphology by matching numerical simulations to observed galaxy properties. This involves simulating the evolution of stars and interstellar gas, and studying the changes in the morphological, dynamical, magnetic, radiative and thermodynamical properties. The structure of own galaxy, the Milky Way, is of specific interest due to our residence within it and the wealth of available observational data. In this talk I will discuss my previous and ongoing work in this area, as well as my future research plans.