Galaxy formation and evolution 2010 - 2015
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
TThis programmatic five-year rolling grant application addresses one of the most important problems in extragalactic astronomy, the formation and evolution of galaxies. The task is one of the key goals in the current STFC Road Map and is a defining objective of virtually every national decadal survey world-wide. 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
Hughes T
(2014)
A resolved analysis of cold dust and gas in the nearby edge-on spiral NGC 891
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Harrison D
(2011)
A deconvolution map-making method for experiments with circular scanning strategies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smiljanic R
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Boeche C
(2013)
The relation between chemical abundances and kinematics of the Galactic disc with RAVE
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Krühler T
(2011)
Photometric redshifts for gamma-ray burst afterglows from GROND and Swift /UVOT
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Melin J
(2012)
A comparison of algorithms for the construction of SZ cluster catalogues
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Saito R
(2012)
VVV DR1: The first data release of the Milky Way bulge and southern plane from the near-infrared ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Vía Láctea
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lebzelter T
(2012)
Comparative modelling of the spectra of cool giants
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cantat-Gaudin T
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: Stellar content and elemental abundances in the massive cluster NGC 6705
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nicuesa Guelbenzu A
(2011)
GRB 090426: Discovery of a jet break in a short burst afterglow
in Astronomy & Astrophysics