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
Mortlock D
(2009)
Discovery of a redshift 6.13 quasar in the UKIRT infrared deep sky survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Munari U
(2009)
RAVE spectroscopy of luminous blue variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Munari U.
(2008)
Diffuse interstellar bands in RAVE survey spectra
in ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Ménard B
(2008)
Lensing, reddening and extinction effects of Mg ii absorbers from z = 0.4 to 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nestor D
(2008)
The quasar-frame velocity distribution of narrow C iv absorbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nestor D
(2008)
Measurements of Ca ii absorption, metals and dust in a sample of z ? 1 DLAs and subDLAs ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2009)
The origin of Segue 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Niederste-Ostholt M
(2010)
RE-ASSEMBLING THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nissen P
(2007)
Sulphur and zinc abundances in Galactic halo stars revisited
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Norris J
(2010)
BOO-1137-AN EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STAR IN THE ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY BOÖTES I
in The Astrophysical Journal
Norris John E.
(2008)
THE ABUNDANCE SPREAD IN THE BOOTES I DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
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
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
Overzier R
(2008)
Lyman Break Galaxies, Lya Emitters, and a Radio Galaxy in a Protocluster at z = 4.1
in The Astrophysical Journal
Page M
(2007)
The XMM-SSC survey of hard-spectrum XMM-Newton sources - I. Optically bright sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parmentier G
(2007)
The origin of the Gaussian initial mass function of old globular cluster systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Perley D
(2009)
THE HOST GALAXIES OF SWIFT DARK GAMMA-RAY BURSTS: OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON HIGHLY OBSCURED AND VERY HIGH REDSHIFT GRBs
in The Astronomical Journal
Peroux C
(2007)
A homogeneous sample of sub-damped Lyman systems - IV. Global metallicity evolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Peter A
(2007)
Morphologies of Galaxies in and around a Protocluster at z = 2.300
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pettini M
(2008)
C, N, O abundances in the most metal-poor damped Lyman alpha systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M
(2010)
CASSOWARY 20: a wide separation Einstein Cross identified with the X-shooter spectrograph
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M
(2008)
Deuterium abundance in the most metal-poor damped Lyman alpha system: converging on O b,0 h 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pettini M.
(2007)
Lyman break galaxies: A ten-year perspective
in NUOVO CIMENTO DELLA SOCIETA ITALIANA DI FISICA B-GENERAL PHYSICS RELATIVITY ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS AND METHODS
Peñarrubia J
(2009)
THE SIGNATURE OF GALACTIC TIDES IN LOCAL GROUP DWARF SPHEROIDALS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Peñarrubia J
(2009)
Tidal disruption of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies with triaxial dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society