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
Donovan Meyer J
(2012)
RESOLVED MEASUREMENTS OF X CO IN NGC 6946
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chen X
(2011)
TIDALLY ENHANCED STELLAR WIND: A WAY TO MAKE THE SYMBIOTIC CHANNEL TO TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA VIABLE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Mao Y
(2012)
CHARACTERIZING ULTRAVIOLET AND INFRARED OBSERVATIONAL PROPERTIES FOR GALAXIES. I. INFLUENCES OF DUST ATTENUATION AND STELLAR POPULATION AGE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Minchev I
(2014)
A NEW STELLAR CHEMO-KINEMATIC RELATION REVEALS THE MERGER HISTORY OF THE MILKY WAY DISK
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bouwens R
(2012)
LOWER-LUMINOSITY GALAXIES COULD REIONIZE THE UNIVERSE: VERY STEEP FAINT-END SLOPES TO THE UV LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS AT z ? 5-8 FROM THE HUDF09 WFC3/IR OBSERVATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Huang J
(2014)
HerMES: SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES AT z > 4
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bennert V
(2011)
A LOCAL BASELINE OF THE BLACK HOLE MASS SCALING RELATIONS FOR ACTIVE GALAXIES. I. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS OF PILOT STUDY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chornock R
(2011)
THE TRANSITIONAL STRIPPED-ENVELOPE SN 2008ax: SPECTRAL EVOLUTION AND EVIDENCE FOR LARGE ASPHERICITY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Reynolds C
(2012)
A MONTE CARLO MARKOV CHAIN BASED INVESTIGATION OF BLACK HOLE SPIN IN THE ACTIVE GALAXY NGC 3783
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sazonov S
(2012)
CONTRIBUTION OF THE ACCRETION DISK, HOT CORONA, AND OBSCURING TORUS TO THE LUMINOSITY OF SEYFERT GALAXIES: INTEGRAL AND SPITZER OBSERVATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal