Cautionary Tales from the Local Universe

Sarah Gallagher (Western University)

January 20, 2025

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Abstract: Studying low-redshift analogues of phenomena in the early Universe is an established method for getting a closer look at intriguing physics. However, determining when a local analogue functions well to represent distant systems, and what limitations need to be kept in mind, can be challenging. Furthermore, low redshift examples often reveal complexity that gets hidden when looking at high redshift objects – often because of the limits of spatial and spectral resolution and sensitivity, and mismatches in bandpasses. I’ll discuss specific examples of local analogues – local compact galaxy groups and super Eddington-accreting AGN – that reveal complexity that should be considered when studying distant objects.