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
Trujillo I
(2009)
UNVEILING THE NATURE OF M94's (NGC4736) OUTER REGION: A PANCHROMATIC PERSPECTIVE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Batista V
(2009)
Mass measurement of a single unseen star and planetary detection efficiency for OGLE 2007-BLG-050
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Weiß A
(2009)
THE LARGE APEX BOLOMETER CAMERA SURVEY OF THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH
in The Astrophysical Journal
Quider A
(2009)
The ultraviolet spectrum of the gravitationally lensed galaxy 'the Cosmic Horseshoe': a close-up of a star-forming galaxy at z ~ 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
A search for neutral carbon towards two z = 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN???20 and GN???20.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jorgenson R
(2009)
DIRECT EVIDENCE OF COLD GAS IN DLA 0812+32B
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chapman S
(2009)
DO SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES REALLY TRACE THE MOST MASSIVE DARK-MATTER HALOS? DISCOVERY OF A HIGH- z CLUSTER IN A HIGHLY ACTIVE PHASE OF EVOLUTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gray M
(2009)
STAGES: the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bardayan D
(2009)
Direct measurements of (p, $ \gamma$ ) cross-sections at astrophysical energies using radioactive beams and the Daresbury Recoil Separator
in The European Physical Journal A
Kennicutt R
(2009)
DUST-CORRECTED STAR FORMATION RATES OF GALAXIES. I. COMBINATIONS OF Ha AND INFRARED TRACERS
in The Astrophysical Journal