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
Battaglia G
(2011)
Study of the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy from the DART Ca ii triplet survey? The DART survey of the Sextans dSph
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Battaglia G
(2012)
A wide-area view of the Phoenix dwarf galaxy from Very Large Telescope/FORS imaging? Survey of the Phoenix transition type
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bayliss K
(2012)
[O ii ] emitters at z ~ 4.6 in the GOODS field: a homogeneous measure of evolving star formation [O ii ] emitters at z ~ 4.6 in the GOODS field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bayliss K
(2011)
[O ii] emitters in the GOODS field at z~ 1.85: a homogeneous measure of evolving star formation [O ii] emitters in the GOODS field at z ~ 1.85
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2011)
Detection of extended He ii reionization in the temperature evolution of the intergalactic medium? IGM temperatures over 2 < z < 5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2013)
A refined measurement of the mean transmitted flux in the Lya forest over 2 < z < 5 using composite quasar spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2011)
HIGH-REDSHIFT METALS. II. PROBING REIONIZATION GALAXIES WITH LOW-IONIZATION ABSORPTION LINES AT REDSHIFT SIX $^,$
in The Astrophysical Journal
Becker G
(2012)
IRON AND a-ELEMENT PRODUCTION IN THE FIRST ONE BILLION YEARS AFTER THE BIG BANG , ,
in The Astrophysical Journal
Beichman C
(2011)
MULTI-EPOCH OBSERVATIONS OF HD 69830: HIGH-RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY AND LIMITS TO VARIABILITY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Beirão P
(2012)
A STUDY OF HEATING AND COOLING OF THE ISM IN NGC 1097 WITH HERSCHEL -PACS AND SPITZER -IRS
in The Astrophysical Journal