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
Mennella A
(2011)
Planck early results. III. First assessment of the Low Frequency Instrument in-flight performance
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Walsh J
(2012)
The light element abundance distribution in NGC 5128 from planetary nebulae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nicuesa Guelbenzu A
(2012)
Multi-color observations of short GRB afterglows: 20 events observed between 2007 and 2010
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gazzano J
(2013)
Characterisation of the Galactic thin disc with CoRoT targets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Clemens C
(2011)
GRB 071028B, a burst behind large amounts of dust in an unabsorbed galaxy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Friel E
(2014)
Gaia -ESO Survey: Properties of the intermediate age open cluster NGC 4815
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mast D
(2014)
The effects of spatial resolution on integral field spectrograph surveys at different redshifts - The CALIFA perspective
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Barrado D
(2010)
XMM- Newton investigations of the Lambda Orionis star-forming region (XILO) I. The young cluster Collinder 69?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sacco G
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: processing FLAMES-UVES spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kordopatis G
(2011)
Automatic stellar spectra parameterisation in the IR Ca ii triplet region
in Astronomy & Astrophysics