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.

Publications

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Koposov S. (2008) The luminosity function of the Milky Way satellites in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL

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Kornei K (2010) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STELLAR POPULATIONS AND Lya EMISSION IN LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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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

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Law D (2009) THE KILOPARSEC-SCALE KINEMATICS OF HIGH-REDSHIFT STAR-FORMING GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Lawrence A (2007) The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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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

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Lee J (2009) COMPARISON OF Ha AND UV STAR FORMATION RATES IN THE LOCAL VOLUME: SYSTEMATIC DISCREPANCIES FOR DWARF GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Macciò A (2010) Luminosity function and radial distribution of Milky Way satellites in a ?CDM Universe in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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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

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Mackey A (2008) Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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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

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Maddox N (2008) Luminous K -band selected quasars from UKIDSS in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Martin N (2009) PAndAS' CUBS: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW DWARF GALAXIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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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

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Maschietto F (2008) [O iii] emitters in the field of the MRC 0316-257 protocluster in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Mateo M (2008) The Velocity Dispersion Profile of the Remote Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Leo I: A Tidal Hit and Run? in The Astrophysical Journal

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McConnachie A (2008) A Trio of New Local Group Galaxies with Extreme Properties in The Astrophysical Journal

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McConnachie AW (2009) The remnants of galaxy formation from a panoramic survey of the region around M31. in Nature

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Menéndez-Delmestre K (2009) MID-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES: EXTENDED STAR FORMATION IN MASSIVE HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Meurer G (2009) EVIDENCE FOR A NONUNIFORM INITIAL MASS FUNCTION IN THE LOCAL UNIVERSE in The Astrophysical Journal