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
Friel E
(2014)
Gaia -ESO Survey: Properties of the intermediate age open cluster NGC 4815
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nicuesa Guelbenzu A
(2011)
GRB 090426: Discovery of a jet break in a short burst afterglow
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Raymond S
(2012)
Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation II. Dependence of exoplanet architectures on giant planet and disk properties
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Galametz M
(2011)
Probing the dust properties of galaxies up to submillimetre wavelengths II. Dust-to-gas mass ratio trends with metallicity and the submm excess in dwarf galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Le Bourlot J
(2012)
Surface chemistry in the interstellar medium I. H 2 formation by Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal mechanisms
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Saito R
(2012)
VVV DR1: The first data release of the Milky Way bulge and southern plane from the near-infrared ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Vía Láctea
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Magdis G
(2013)
Mid- to far-infrared properties of star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lemasle B
(2012)
VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy of red giant branch stars in the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ciesla L
(2013)
Submillimetre photometry of 323 nearby galaxies from the Herschel Reference Survey (Corrigendum)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zwitter T
(2010)
Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models II. Most likely values assuming a standard stellar evolution scenario*
in Astronomy & Astrophysics