IGM-Vis: Analyzing Intergalactic and Circumgalactic Medium Absorption Using Quasar Sightlines in a Cosmic Web Context. (arXiv:1812.07092v1 [astro-ph.IM])

IGM-Vis: Analyzing Intergalactic and Circumgalactic Medium Absorption Using Quasar Sightlines in a Cosmic Web Context. (arXiv:1812.07092v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Burchett_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Joseph N. Burchett</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Abramov_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">David Abramov</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Otto_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Jasmine Otto</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Artanegara_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Cassia Artanegara</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Forbes_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. Xavier Prochaska. Angus G. Forbes</a>

This article introduces the Intergalactic Medium Visualization, or ‘IGM-Vis’,
a novel visualization and data analysis platform for investigating galaxies and
the gas that surrounds them in context with their larger scale environment, the
Cosmic Web. Environment is an important factor in the evolution of galaxies
from actively forming stars to quiescent states with little, if any,
discernible star formation activity. The gaseous halos of galaxies (the
circumgalactic medium, or CGM) play a critical role in their evolution, because
the gas necessary to fuel star formation and any gas expelled from widely
observed galactic winds must encounter this interface region between galaxies
and the intergalactic medium (IGM). We present a taxonomy of tasks typically
employed in IGM/CGM studies informed by a survey of astrophysicists at various
career levels, and demonstrate how these tasks are facilitated via the use of
our visualization software. Finally, we evaluate the effectiveness of IGM-Vis
through two in-depth use cases that depict real-world analysis sessions that
use IGM/CGM data.

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