Galaxy formation and evolution
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
This programmatic five-year rolling grant application addresses one of the most important problems in extragalactic astronomy, the formation and evolution of galaxies, one of the ``big questions'' in the current PPARC Road Map, and is a defining objective of virtually every national decadal survey of astronomy. A full understanding of galaxy formation and evolution requires multiple lines of attack. Observations of the resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and its Local Group companions provide a detailed fossil record of the dynamical assemblies of the galaxies, the formation of stars, and the buildup of heavy elements over a wide range of mass scales and initial conditions. At the other end of the scale, observations of distant galaxies spanning lookback times of up to 12 Gyr provide direct measurements of the evolution of galaxy populations and the buildup of stars and metals with cosmic time. Finally, measurements of the large-scale star formation and abundance properties of nearby galaxies form a vital astrophysical bridge between the studies of nearby resolved stellar populations and the distant high-redshift investigations, by allowing us to characterise the evolutionary properties of the Hubble sequence and the complex ``gastrophysical'' processes that regulate the accretion of gas and the formation of stars in galaxies. In this rolling grant application we propose a series of investigations that will advance our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution on all three fronts.
Organisations
Publications
Kornei K
(2010)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STELLAR POPULATIONS AND Lya EMISSION IN LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Quider A
(2010)
A study of interstellar gas and stars in the gravitationally lensed galaxy 'the Cosmic Eye' from rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M
(2010)
CASSOWARY 20: a wide separation Einstein Cross identified with the X-shooter spectrograph
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2010)
RE-ASSEMBLING THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zych B
(2009)
Dust depletion, chemical uniformity and environment of Ca ii H&K quasar absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hainline K
(2009)
REST-FRAME OPTICAL SPECTRA OF THREE STRONGLY LENSED GALAXIES AT z ~ 2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Watson M. G.
(2009)
The XMM-Newton serendipitous survey V. The Second XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue
in ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Adén D
(2009)
A NEW LOW MASS FOR THE HERCULES dSph: THE END OF A COMMON MASS SCALE FOR THE DWARFS?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2009)
The origin of Segue 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Altavilla G
(2009)
TYPE Ia SNe ALONG REDSHIFT: THE $\mathcal {R}$(Si II) RATIO AND THE EXPANSION VELOCITIES IN INTERMEDIATE- z SUPERNOVAE
in The Astrophysical Journal