High Velocity Cloud Interactions With Their Ambient Environment

High velocity clouds (HVCs) are collections of gas around the Milky Way galaxy and other galaxies with masses ranging from tens of thousands of solar masses to millions of solar masses. These cool clouds can potentially supply new cool material to the disks of galaxies. Many unanswered questions exist about HVCs; e.g. "How do HVCs form?", "How long can HVCs survive while interacting with the hot ambient material?", and "How do HVCs affect, and how are they affected by, our Galaxy?" Using detailed multi-dimensional numerical simulations, this study focuses on how HVCs interact with their ambient environments and how these interactions affect the cloud's metal concentration, condensation and evaporation rates, and morphology. Using the results of these simulations this study suggests methods to determine the origins of HVCs based on observed metal concentrations, and how initial parameter space affects the condensation of ambient material onto HVCs.