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
Tacconi L
(2008)
Submillimeter Galaxies at z ~ 2: Evidence for Major Mergers and Constraints on Lifetimes, IMF, and CO-H 2 Conversion Factor
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shin E
(2008)
The effect of satellite galaxies on gravitational lensing flux ratios
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mackey A
(2008)
Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bell Eric F.
(2008)
The accretion origin of the Milky Way's stellar halo
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Veltz L.
(2008)
Galactic kinematics with RAVE data -: I.: The distribution of stars towards the Galactic poles
in ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Pinfield D
(2008)
Fifteen new T dwarfs discovered in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brinchmann J
(2008)
New insights into the stellar content and physical conditions of star-forming galaxies at z = 2-3 from spectral modelling
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chapman S
(2008)
Interferometric CO Observations of Submillimeter-faint, Radio-selected Starburst Galaxies at z ~ 2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Begum A
(2008)
Baryonic Tullyâ??Fisher relation for extremely low mass Galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McConnachie A
(2008)
A Trio of New Local Group Galaxies with Extreme Properties
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dye S
(2008)
The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) - VII. Optical/IR photometry and stellar masses of submillimetre galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dutta P
(2008)
H i power spectrum of the spiral galaxy NGC 628
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Overzier R
(2008)
Lyman Break Galaxies, Lya Emitters, and a Radio Galaxy in a Protocluster at z = 4.1
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ryan-Weber E
(2008)
The Local Group dwarf Leo T: H i on the brink of star formation H i in Leo T
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koposov S.
(2008)
The luminosity function of the Milky Way satellites
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Shin E
(2008)
Lensing by binary galaxies modelled as isothermal spheres
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cao C
(2008)
Mid-Infrared spectroscopic properties of ultra-luminous infrared quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nestor D
(2008)
The quasar-frame velocity distribution of narrow C iv absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Jong J
(2008)
NUMERICAL COLOR-MAGNITUDE DIAGRAM ANALYSIS OF SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY DATA AND APPLICATION TO THE NEW MILKY WAY SATELLITES
in The Astronomical Journal
Xue X
(2008)
The Milky Way's Circular Velocity Curve to 60 kpc and an Estimate of the Dark Matter Halo Mass from the Kinematics of ~2400 SDSS Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
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