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
Austermann J
(2010)
AzTEC half square degree survey of the SHADES fields â?? I. Maps, catalogues and source counts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Barcons X
(2007)
The XMM-Newton serendipitous survey IV. Optical identification of the XMM-Newton medium sensitivity survey (XMS)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
Batista V
(2009)
Mass measurement of a single unseen star and planetary detection efficiency for OGLE 2007-BLG-050
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Becker A
(2008)
Two-Micron All-Sky Survey J01542930+0053266: a new eclipsing M dwarf binary system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Begum A
(2008)
FIGGS: Faint Irregular Galaxies GMRT Survey - overview, observations and first results
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Begum A
(2007)
Life in the last lane: star formation and chemical evolution in an extremely gas rich dwarf NGC 3741
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Begum A
(2008)
Baryonic Tullyâ??Fisher relation for extremely low mass Galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bell Eric F.
(2008)
The accretion origin of the Milky Way's stellar halo
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL