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
Zych B
(2007)
The host galaxies of strong Ca II quasar absorption systems at z < 0.5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vidrih S
(2007)
New ultracool and halo white dwarf candidates in SDSS Stripe 82
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koch A
(2007)
Stellar Kinematics in the Remote Leo II Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy--Another Brick in the Wall
in The Astronomical Journal
Page M
(2007)
The XMM-SSC survey of hard-spectrum XMM-Newton sources - I. Optically bright sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oey M
(2007)
The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. III. Diffuse, Warm Ionized Medium and Escape of Ionizing Radiation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Belokurov V
(2007)
The Cosmic Horseshoe: Discovery of an Einstein Ring around a Giant Luminous Red Galaxy
in The Astrophysical Journal
Martin N
(2007)
A Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of faint Galactic satellites: searching for the least massive dwarf galaxies? A spectroscopic survey of faint Galactic satellites
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pontzen A
(2007)
Direct observational test rules out small Mg ii absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Nissen P
(2007)
Sulphur and zinc abundances in Galactic halo stars revisited
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Chapman S
(2007)
Strangers in the Night: Discovery of a Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy on Its First Local Group Infall
in The Astrophysical Journal