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.

Publications

10 25 50
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Kordopatis G (2011) A spectroscopic survey of thick disc stars outside the solar neighbourhood in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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Nierenberg A (2011) LUMINOUS SATELLITES OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES. I. SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION in The Astrophysical Journal

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Hlavacek-Larrondo J (2011) AGN feedback and iron enrichment in the powerful radio galaxy, 4C+55.16 The cluster around 4C+55.16 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Romano-Diaz E (2011) THE DARK SIDE OF QSO FORMATION AT HIGH REDSHIFTS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Çelik C (2011) Cosmic ray background effects on the neutron intercepting silicon chip (NISC) in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

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Amorisco N (2011) Phase-space models of the dwarf spheroidals? Phase-space models of the dwarf spheroidals in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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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

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Karl S (2011) DISRUPTION OF STAR CLUSTERS IN THE INTERACTING ANTENNAE GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Gallo L (2011) How the effects of resonant absorption on black hole reflection spectra can mimic high-velocity outflows in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

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Deason A (2011) Rotation of halo populations in the Milky Way and M31 Halo rotation in the Milky Way and M31 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Rice W (2011) Stability of self-gravitating discs under irradiation Irradiated self-gravitating discs in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Zoghbi A (2011) Understanding reverberation lags in 1H0707-495 Reverberation in 1H0707-495 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Raymond S (2011) Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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Canizares P (2011) The LISA Pathfinder DMU and Radiation Monitor in Classical and Quantum Gravity

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Broos P (2011) A CATALOG OF CHANDRA X-RAY SOURCES IN THE CARINA NEBULA in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

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Krühler T (2011) The SEDs and host galaxies of the dustiest GRB afterglows in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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ZIPFEL J (2011) Bounce Rock-A shergottite-like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum, Mars in Meteoritics & Planetary Science

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Nardini E (2011) A reflection origin for the soft and hard X-ray excess of Ark 120 Blurred X-ray reflection in Ark 120 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society