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
Amorisco NC
(2014)
The remnant of a merger between two dwarf galaxies in Andromeda II.
in Nature
An J
(2012)
Mass estimators in the Gaia era Mass estimators in the Gaia era
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
An J
(2011)
Modified virial formulae and the theory of mass estimators Tracer mass estimators
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Andrews J
(2013)
AN INITIAL MASS FUNCTION STUDY OF THE DWARF STARBURST GALAXY NGC 4214
in The Astrophysical Journal
Andrews J
(2014)
BIG FISH IN SMALL PONDS: MASSIVE STARS IN THE LOW-MASS CLUSTERS OF M83
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aniano G
(2012)
MODELING DUST AND STARLIGHT IN GALAXIES OBSERVED BY SPITZER AND HERSCHEL : NGC 628 AND NGC 6946
in The Astrophysical Journal
Antoja T
(2014)
Constraints on the Galactic bar from the Hercules stream as traced with RAVE across the Galaxy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Antoja T
(2012)
Kinematic groups beyond the solar neighbourhood with RAVE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Antonucci F
(2012)
The LISA Pathfinder mission
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Arav N
(2012)
Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 X. Lower limit on the distance of the absorber from HST COS and STIS spectroscopy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics