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
Serjeant S
(2008)
The SCUBA Half Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) - IX. The environment, mass and redshift dependence of star formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Casetti-Dinescu D
(2008)
KINEMATICS OF STARS IN KAPTEYN SELECTED AREA 71: SAMPLING THE MONOCEROS AND SAGITTARIUS TIDAL STREAMS
in The Astronomical Journal
Fellhauer M
(2008)
The Cambridge N-Body Lectures
Pontzen A
(2008)
Damped Lyman a systems in galaxy formation simulations
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
Mateo M
(2008)
The Velocity Dispersion Profile of the Remote Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Leo I: A Tidal Hit and Run?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Coppin K
(2008)
The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey - VI. 350-µm mapping of submillimetre 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
Koposov S.
(2008)
The luminosity function of the Milky Way satellites
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL