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
Smith M
(2009)
THE TILT OF THE HALO VELOCITY ELLIPSOID AND THE SHAPE OF THE MILKY WAY HALO
in The Astrophysical Journal
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2010)
RE-ASSEMBLING THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Overzier R
(2008)
Lyman Break Galaxies, Lya Emitters, and a Radio Galaxy in a Protocluster at z = 4.1
in The Astrophysical Journal
Altavilla G
(2009)
TYPE Ia SNe ALONG REDSHIFT: THE $\mathcal {R}$(Si II) RATIO AND THE EXPANSION VELOCITIES IN INTERMEDIATE- z SUPERNOVAE
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
O'Dowd M
(2009)
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN GALAXIES AT z ~ 0.1: THE EFFECT OF STAR FORMATION AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
in The Astrophysical Journal
Peter A
(2007)
Morphologies of Galaxies in and around a Protocluster at z = 2.300
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jorgenson R
(2009)
DIRECT EVIDENCE OF COLD GAS IN DLA 0812+32B
in The Astrophysical Journal
Oey M
(2007)
The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. III. Diffuse, Warm Ionized Medium and Escape of Ionizing Radiation
in The Astrophysical Journal