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
Cao C
(2008)
Mid-Infrared spectroscopic properties of ultra-luminous infrared quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quider A
(2010)
A study of interstellar gas and stars in the gravitationally lensed galaxy 'the Cosmic Eye' from rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy
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
Siebert A
(2008)
Estimation of the tilt of the stellar velocity ellipsoid from RAVE and implications for mass models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mackey A
(2010)
Deep Gemini/GMOS imaging of an extremely isolated globular cluster in the Local Group
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M
(2010)
CASSOWARY 20: a wide separation Einstein Cross identified with the X-shooter spectrograph
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lehmer B
(2009)
The Chandra Deep Protocluster Survey: point-source catalogues for a 400-ks observation of the z = 3.09 protocluster in SSA22
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M
(2008)
C, N, O abundances in the most metal-poor damped Lyman alpha systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Takagi T
(2007)
The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) - V. Submillimetre properties of near-infrared-selected galaxies in the Subaru/XMM-Newton deep field Submm properties of NIR-selected galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Richardson J
(2009)
An HST /ACS view of the inhomogeneous outer halo of M31
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society