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
Quinn D
(2009)
A strip search for new very wide halo binaries A strip search for new very wide halo binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Belokurov V
(2009)
Two new large-separation gravitational lenses from SDSS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parmentier G
(2007)
The origin of the Gaussian initial mass function of old globular cluster systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Donato F
(2009)
A constant dark matter halo surface density in galaxies
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
Fellhauer M
(2009)
Merging time-scales of stellar subclumps in young star-forming regions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Werner M
(2008)
On multiple Einstein rings
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
Mackey A
(2007)
The effect of stellar-mass black holes on the structural evolution of massive star clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Evans N
(2009)
Cores and cusps in the dwarf spheroidals
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters