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
Koposov S
(2009)
A QUANTITATIVE EXPLANATION OF THE OBSERVED POPULATION OF MILKY WAY SATELLITE GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chen H
(2009)
HIGH-REDSHIFT STARBURSTING DWARF GALAXIES REVEALED BY ?-RAY BURST AFTERGLOWS
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
Koch A
(2007)
Stellar Kinematics in the Remote Leo II Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy--Another Brick in the Wall
in The Astronomical Journal
Bellazzini M
(2008)
THE NUCLEUS OF THE SAGITTARIUS DSPH GALAXY AND M54: A WINDOW ON THE PROCESS OF GALAXY NUCLEATION
in The Astronomical Journal
De Jong J
(2008)
NUMERICAL COLOR-MAGNITUDE DIAGRAM ANALYSIS OF SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY DATA AND APPLICATION TO THE NEW MILKY WAY SATELLITES
in The Astronomical Journal
Yanny B
(2009)
SEGUE: A SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY OF 240,000 STARS WITH g = 14-20
in The Astronomical Journal
Smolcic V
(2007)
Improved Photometry of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Crowded-Field Images: Structure and Dark Matter Content in the Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Leo I
in The Astronomical Journal
Koch A
(2008)
COMPLEXITY ON SMALL SCALES. III. IRON AND a ELEMENT ABUNDANCES IN THE CARINA DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY
in The Astronomical Journal