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
Kaastra J
(2012)
Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 VIII. Location of the X-ray absorber
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Raymond S
(2011)
Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Piffl T
(2014)
The RAVE survey: the Galactic escape speed and the mass of the Milky Way
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Orellana G
(2011)
Sub-millimeter detected z ~ 2 radio-quiet QSOs Accurate redshifts, black hole masses, and inflow/outflow velocities
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hebb L
(2010)
MML 53: a new low-mass, pre-main sequence eclipsing binary in the Upper Centaurus-Lupus region discovered by SuperWASP
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Galliano F
(2011)
Non-standard grain properties, dark gas reservoir, and extended submillimeter excess, probed by Herschel in the Large Magellanic Cloud
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Corradi R
(2009)
IPHAS and the symbiotic stars II. New discoveries and a sample of the most common mimics
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Breddels M
(2010)
Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Engelbracht C
(2010)
Enhanced dust heating in the bulges of early-type spiral galaxies
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Starkenburg E
(2010)
The NIR Ca ii triplet at low metallicity Searching for extremely low-metallicity stars in classical dwarf galaxies
in Astronomy and Astrophysics