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
Koposov S.
(2008)
The luminosity function of the Milky Way satellites
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Kornei K
(2010)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STELLAR POPULATIONS AND Lya EMISSION IN LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Law D
(2009)
THE KILOPARSEC-SCALE KINEMATICS OF HIGH-REDSHIFT STAR-FORMING GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Law D
(2007)
Integral Field Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Star-forming Galaxies with Laser-guided Adaptive Optics: Evidence for Dispersion-dominated Kinematics
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lawrence A
(2007)
The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee H
(2007)
Interstellar medium oxygen abundances of dwarf irregular galaxies in Centaurus A and nearby groups*
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee J
(2009)
COMPARISON OF Ha AND UV STAR FORMATION RATES IN THE LOCAL VOLUME: SYSTEMATIC DISCREPANCIES FOR DWARF GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
Lehmer B
(2009)
THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: EVIDENCE FOR AN ENHANCEMENT OF AGN ACTIVITY IN THE SSA22 PROTOCLUSTER AT z = 3.09
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