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
Jonker P
(2010)
A bright off-nuclear X-ray source: a type IIn supernova, a bright ULX or a recoiling supermassive black hole in CXO J122518.6+144545 A bright off-nuclear X-ray source
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Steiner J
(2012)
A broad iron line in LMC X-1 A broad iron line in LMC X-1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bouwens RJ
(2011)
A candidate redshift z ˜ 10 galaxy and rapid changes in that population at an age of 500 Myr.
in Nature
Cooke R
(2010)
A carbon-enhanced metal-poor damped Lya system: probing gas from Population III nucleosynthesis?? A carbon-enhanced metal-poor DLA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Broos P
(2011)
A CATALOG OF CHANDRA X-RAY SOURCES IN THE CARINA NEBULA
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Humphrey P
(2011)
A CENSUS OF BARYONS AND DARK MATTER IN AN ISOLATED, MILKY WAY SIZED ELLIPTICAL GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Watkins L
(2013)
A census of orbital properties of the M31 satellites
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tout C
(2011)
A common envelope binary star origin of long gamma-ray bursts LGRBs from common envelope evolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Auger M
(2011)
A compact early-type galaxy at z= 0.6 under a magnifying lens: evidence for inside-out growth Super-resolving a compact ETG at z = 0.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Botticella M
(2012)
A comparison between star formation rate diagnostics and rate of core collapse supernovae within 11 Mpc
in Astronomy & Astrophysics