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
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2010)
RE-ASSEMBLING THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Banerji M
(2010)
Exploring the luminosity evolution and stellar mass assembly of 2SLAQ luminous red galaxies between redshifts 0.4 and 0.8
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koposov S
(2010)
CONSTRAINING THE MILKY WAY POTENTIAL WITH A SIX-DIMENSIONAL PHASE-SPACE MAP OF THE GD-1 STELLAR STREAM
in The Astrophysical Journal
Norris J
(2010)
BOO-1137-AN EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STAR IN THE ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY BOÖTES I
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lee J
(2009)
COMPARISON OF Ha AND UV STAR FORMATION RATES IN THE LOCAL VOLUME: SYSTEMATIC DISCREPANCIES FOR DWARF GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kennicutt R
(2009)
DUST-CORRECTED STAR FORMATION RATES OF GALAXIES. I. COMBINATIONS OF Ha AND INFRARED TRACERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Letarte B
(2009)
A Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of the faint Mâ??31 satellites Andâ??XV and Andâ??XVI
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sen B
(2009)
Streaming motion in Leo I
in The Annals of Applied Statistics
Huxor A
(2009)
THE DISCOVERY OF REMOTE GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN M33
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hainline K
(2009)
REST-FRAME OPTICAL SPECTRA OF THREE STRONGLY LENSED GALAXIES AT z ~ 2
in The Astrophysical Journal