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
Lodieu N
(2007)
Eight new T4.5-T7.5 dwarfs discovered in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey Data Release 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lodieu N
(2009)
Two distant brown dwarfs in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Deep Extragalactic Survey Data Release 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Macciò A
(2010)
Luminosity function and radial distribution of Milky Way satellites in a ?CDM Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mackey A
(2007)
The effect of stellar-mass black holes on the structural evolution of massive star clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Mackey A
(2008)
Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
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
Maddox N
(2008)
Luminous K -band selected quasars from UKIDSS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Martin N
(2009)
PAndAS' CUBS: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW DWARF GALAXIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Martin N
(2007)
A Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of faint Galactic satellites: searching for the least massive dwarf galaxies? A spectroscopic survey of faint Galactic satellites
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