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
Werner M
(2008)
On multiple Einstein rings
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bramich D
(2008)
Light and motion in SDSS Stripe 82: the catalogues
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Burningham B
(2008)
Exploring the substellar temperature regime down to ~550 K
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Norris John E.
(2008)
THE ABUNDANCE SPREAD IN THE BOOTES I DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
Dye S
(2008)
Models of the Cosmic Horseshoe gravitational lens J10044112
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Amanullah R.
(2008)
Light curves of five type Ia supernovae at intermediate redshift
in ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Seabroke G
(2008)
Is the sky falling? Searching for stellar streams in the local Milky Way disc in the CORAVEL and RAVE surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maschietto F
(2008)
[O iii] emitters in the field of the MRC 0316-257 protocluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kniazev A
(2008)
Spectroscopy of two PN candidates in IC 10 ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker A
(2008)
Two-Micron All-Sky Survey J01542930+0053266: a new eclipsing M dwarf binary system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society