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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.

Publications

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Auger M (2010) THE SLOAN LENS ACS SURVEY. X. STELLAR, DYNAMICAL, AND TOTAL MASS CORRELATIONS OF MASSIVE EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Goddard Q (2010) On the nature of star formation at large galactic radii Star formation at large galactic radii in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Barnes L (2010) Faint extended Lya emission due to star formation at the centre of high column density QSO absorption systems Extended Lya emission from DLAs in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Suyu S (2010) DISSECTING THE GRAVITATIONAL LENS B1608+656. II. PRECISION MEASUREMENTS OF THE HUBBLE CONSTANT, SPATIAL CURVATURE, AND THE DARK ENERGY EQUATION OF STATE in The Astrophysical Journal

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Calzetti D (2010) THE CALIBRATION OF MONOCHROMATIC FAR-INFRARED STAR FORMATION RATE INDICATORS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Reddy N (2010) DUST OBSCURATION AND METALLICITY AT HIGH REDSHIFT: NEW INFERENCES FROM UV, Ha, AND 8 µm OBSERVATIONS OF z ~ 2 STAR-FORMING GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Greenhagen BT (2010) Global silicate mineralogy of the Moon from the Diviner lunar radiometer. in Science (New York, N.Y.)

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Kornei K (2010) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STELLAR POPULATIONS AND Lya EMISSION IN LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Pettini M (2010) CASSOWARY 20: a wide separation Einstein Cross identified with the X-shooter spectrograph in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Phillips N (2010) Target selection for the SUNS and DEBRIS surveys for debris discs in the solar neighbourhood in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society