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
Overzier R
(2008)
Lyman Break Galaxies, Lya Emitters, and a Radio Galaxy in a Protocluster at z = 4.1
in The Astrophysical Journal
PeƱarrubia J
(2009)
THE SIGNATURE OF GALACTIC TIDES IN LOCAL GROUP DWARF SPHEROIDALS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ibata R
(2007)
The Haunted Halos of Andromeda and Triangulum: A Panorama of Galaxy Formation in Action
in The Astrophysical Journal
Belokurov V
(2010)
BIG FISH, LITTLE FISH: TWO NEW ULTRA-FAINT SATELLITES OF THE MILKY WAY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kalirai J
(2009)
THE SPLASH SURVEY: A SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF THE METAL-POOR, LOW-LUMINOSITY M31 dSph SATELLITE ANDROMEDA X,
in The Astrophysical Journal
Xue X
(2008)
The Milky Way's Circular Velocity Curve to 60 kpc and an Estimate of the Dark Matter Halo Mass from the Kinematics of ~2400 SDSS Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
De Jong R
(2007)
Stellar Populations across the NGC 4244 Truncated Galactic Disk
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bresolin F
(2009)
THE FLAT OXYGEN ABUNDANCE GRADIENT IN THE EXTENDED DISK OF M83
in The Astrophysical Journal
Huang J
(2009)
INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH SPECTROSCOPY AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY OF LUMINOUS STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT z ? 1.9
in The Astrophysical Journal
Geach J
(2009)
THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: Lya BLOBS ARE POWERED BY HEATING, NOT COOLING
in The Astrophysical Journal