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
Ibata R
(2007)
The Haunted Halos of Andromeda and Triangulum: A Panorama of Galaxy Formation in Action
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ivison R
(2007)
The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey - III. Identification of radio and mid-infrared counterparts to submillimetre galaxies SHADES III
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jorgenson R
(2009)
DIRECT EVIDENCE OF COLD GAS IN DLA 0812+32B
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kalirai J
(2009)
THE SPLASH SURVEY: A SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF THE METAL-POOR, LOW-LUMINOSITY M31 dSph SATELLITE ANDROMEDA X,
in The Astrophysical Journal
Keel W
(2009)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF Lya BLOBS: A GALEX SEARCH AT z = 0.8
in The Astronomical Journal
Kendall T
(2007)
Two T dwarfs from the UKIDSS early data release
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kennicutt R
(2009)
DUST-CORRECTED STAR FORMATION RATES OF GALAXIES. I. COMBINATIONS OF Ha AND INFRARED TRACERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kniazev A
(2009)
The faint outer regions of the Pegasus dwarf irregular galaxy: a much larger and undisturbed galaxy The faint outer regions of the PegDIG
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kniazev A
(2008)
Spectroscopy of two PN candidates in IC 10 ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koch A
(2007)
Stellar Kinematics in the Remote Leo II Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy--Another Brick in the Wall
in The Astronomical Journal