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
Hurley J
(2010)
Formation of binary millisecond pulsars by accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Steidel C
(2010)
THE STRUCTURE AND KINEMATICS OF THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM FROM FAR-ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA OF z ? 2-3 GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hilbert S
(2010)
Reducing distance errors for standard candles and standard sirens with weak-lensing shear and flexion maps Reducing distance errors with weak-lensing maps
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haehnelt M
(2010)
Probing dark matter, galaxies and the expansion history of the Universe with Ly a in absorption and emission
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Mackey A
(2010)
Deep Gemini/GMOS imaging of an extremely isolated globular cluster in the Local Group
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leitherer C
(2010)
A LIBRARY OF THEORETICAL ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA OF MASSIVE, HOT STARS FOR EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Norris J
(2010)
BOO-1137-AN EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STAR IN THE ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY BOÖTES I
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smart R
(2010)
The distance to the cool T9 brown dwarf ULAS J003402.77-005206.7
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Blum J
(2010)
SUZAKU OBSERVATIONS OF THE BLACK HOLE H1743-322 IN OUTBURST
in The Astrophysical Journal
Marble A
(2010)
AN AROMATIC INVENTORY OF THE LOCAL VOLUME
in The Astrophysical Journal