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
Bardayan D
(2009)
Direct measurements of (p, $ \gamma$ ) cross-sections at astrophysical energies using radioactive beams and the Daresbury Recoil Separator
in The European Physical Journal A
Pontzen A
(2007)
Direct observational test rules out small Mg ii absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
York B
(2007)
Discovery of 21-cm absorption in a zabs = 2.289 damped Lyman system towards TXS 0311+430: the first low spin temperature absorber at z > 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Mortlock D
(2009)
Discovery of a redshift 6.13 quasar in the UKIRT infrared deep sky survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Breddels M
(2010)
Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Chapman S
(2009)
DO SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES REALLY TRACE THE MOST MASSIVE DARK-MATTER HALOS? DISCOVERY OF A HIGH- z CLUSTER IN A HIGHLY ACTIVE PHASE OF EVOLUTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pontzen A
(2009)
Dust biasing of damped Lyman alpha systems: a Bayesian analysis
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zych B
(2009)
Dust depletion, chemical uniformity and environment of Ca ii H&K quasar absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kennicutt R
(2009)
DUST-CORRECTED STAR FORMATION RATES OF GALAXIES. I. COMBINATIONS OF Ha AND INFRARED TRACERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
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