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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.

Publications

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Lehmer B (2009) THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: EVIDENCE FOR AN ENHANCEMENT OF AGN ACTIVITY IN THE SSA22 PROTOCLUSTER AT z = 3.09 in The Astrophysical Journal

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Menéndez-Delmestre K (2009) MID-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES: EXTENDED STAR FORMATION IN MASSIVE HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Mateo M (2008) The Velocity Dispersion Profile of the Remote Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Leo I: A Tidal Hit and Run? in The Astrophysical Journal

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De Jong R (2007) Stellar Populations across the NGC 4244 Truncated Galactic Disk in The Astrophysical Journal

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Norris J (2010) BOO-1137-AN EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STAR IN THE ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY BOÖTES I in The Astrophysical Journal

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Dale D (2009) THE SPITZER LOCAL VOLUME LEGACY: SURVEY DESCRIPTION AND INFRARED PHOTOMETRY in The Astrophysical Journal

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An J (2009) A THEOREM ON CENTRAL VELOCITY DISPERSIONS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Lee J (2009) COMPARISON OF Ha AND UV STAR FORMATION RATES IN THE LOCAL VOLUME: SYSTEMATIC DISCREPANCIES FOR DWARF GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Walker M (2009) LEO V: SPECTROSCOPY OF A DISTANT AND DISTURBED SATELLITE in The Astrophysical Journal

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Gilmore G (2007) The Observed Properties of Dark Matter on Small Spatial Scales in The Astrophysical Journal

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Bresolin F (2009) THE FLAT OXYGEN ABUNDANCE GRADIENT IN THE EXTENDED DISK OF M83 in The Astrophysical Journal

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Geach J (2009) THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: Lya BLOBS ARE POWERED BY HEATING, NOT COOLING in The Astrophysical Journal

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Koposov S (2009) A QUANTITATIVE EXPLANATION OF THE OBSERVED POPULATION OF MILKY WAY SATELLITE GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Koch A (2009) A SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION OF THE BOOTES II DWARF SPHEROIDAL in The Astrophysical Journal

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Koch A (2008) Kinematic and Chemical Constraints on the Formation of M31's Inner and Outer Halo in The Astrophysical Journal

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Gibson D (2009) MOLECULAR LINE OBSERVATIONS OF INFRARED DARK CLOUDS. II. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Law D (2009) THE KILOPARSEC-SCALE KINEMATICS OF HIGH-REDSHIFT STAR-FORMING GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Oey M (2007) The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. III. Diffuse, Warm Ionized Medium and Escape of Ionizing Radiation in The Astrophysical Journal

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Belokurov V (2007) The Cosmic Horseshoe: Discovery of an Einstein Ring around a Giant Luminous Red Galaxy in The Astrophysical Journal

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Kalirai J (2009) THE SPLASH SURVEY: A SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF THE METAL-POOR, LOW-LUMINOSITY M31 dSph SATELLITE ANDROMEDA X, in The Astrophysical Journal

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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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Chapman S (2007) Strangers in the Night: Discovery of a Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy on Its First Local Group Infall in The Astrophysical Journal

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Huang J (2009) INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH SPECTROSCOPY AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY OF LUMINOUS STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT z ? 1.9 in The Astrophysical Journal

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Martin N (2009) PAndAS' CUBS: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW DWARF GALAXIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Niederste-Ostholt M (2010) RE-ASSEMBLING THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY in The Astrophysical Journal