Black holes, dark matter, and extreme star formation: dynamical probes of galaxy formation

Explaining how galaxies form and evolve is one of the biggest challenges in astrophysics. From the black holes that lie in their hearts, to the dark matter than enshrouds them, galaxies are complex. Only by exploiting all the observational tools at our disposal can we hope to understand them. A student taking on this project would help develop new methods to constrain galaxy evolution via observations of the motions of ionised, atomic and molecular gas. They would apply these methods on state-of-the-art and next-generation large surveys to reveal the gas flows fuelling active galactic nuclei, the masses/concentrations of dark matter halos and/or the properties of the stellar remnants left behind after intense starbursts, depending on their interests. They will have the opportunity to work within several large international collaborations, and obtain data from state-of-the-art telescopes around the world, all while working within the supportive, diverse environment present in the Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology (CHART) at Cardiff University.