Galaxy formation and evolution 2010 - 2015
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
TThis programmatic five-year rolling grant application addresses one of the most important problems in extragalactic astronomy, the formation and evolution of galaxies. The task is one of the key goals in the current STFC Road Map and is a defining objective of virtually every national decadal survey world-wide. 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
Boeche C
(2014)
Chemical gradients in the Milky Way from the RAVE data II. Giant stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mislis D
(2012)
Estimating transiting exoplanet masses from precise optical photometry
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zacchei A
(2011)
Planck early results. V. The Low Frequency Instrument data processing
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Raymond S
(2012)
Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation II. Dependence of exoplanet architectures on giant planet and disk properties
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hughes T
(2014)
A resolved analysis of cold dust and gas in the nearby edge-on spiral NGC 891
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Krühler T
(2011)
Photometric redshifts for gamma-ray burst afterglows from GROND and Swift /UVOT
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Recio-Blanco A
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: the Galactic thick to thin disc transition
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Galametz M
(2011)
Probing the dust properties of galaxies up to submillimetre wavelengths II. Dust-to-gas mass ratio trends with metallicity and the submm excess in dwarf galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
González Delgado R
(2014)
The star formation history of CALIFA galaxies: Radial structures
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Recio-Blanco A
(2012)
Fluorine abundances in dwarf stars of the solar neighbourhood
in Astronomy & Astrophysics