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
Belokurov V
(2009)
The discovery of Segue 2: a prototype of the population of satellites of satellites
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bardayan D
(2009)
Direct measurements of (p, $ \gamma$ ) cross-sections at astrophysical energies using radioactive beams and the Daresbury Recoil Separator
in The European Physical Journal A
Jorgenson R
(2009)
DIRECT EVIDENCE OF COLD GAS IN DLA 0812+32B
in The Astrophysical Journal
Richardson J
(2009)
An HST /ACS view of the inhomogeneous outer halo of M31
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Geach J
(2009)
THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: Lya BLOBS ARE POWERED BY HEATING, NOT COOLING
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chapman S
(2009)
DO SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES REALLY TRACE THE MOST MASSIVE DARK-MATTER HALOS? DISCOVERY OF A HIGH- z CLUSTER IN A HIGHLY ACTIVE PHASE OF EVOLUTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Casey C
(2009)
A search for neutral carbon towards two z = 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN???20 and GN???20.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kniazev A
(2009)
The faint outer regions of the Pegasus dwarf irregular galaxy: a much larger and undisturbed galaxy The faint outer regions of the PegDIG
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Munari U
(2009)
RAVE spectroscopy of luminous blue variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Walker M
(2009)
CLEAN KINEMATIC SAMPLES IN DWARF SPHEROIDALS: AN ALGORITHM FOR EVALUATING MEMBERSHIP AND ESTIMATING DISTRIBUTION PARAMETERS WHEN CONTAMINATION IS PRESENT
in The Astronomical Journal