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
Deason A
(2014)
TOUCHING THE VOID: A STRIKING DROP IN STELLAR HALO DENSITY BEYOND 50 kpc
in The Astrophysical Journal
Croxall K
(2013)
TOWARD A REMOVAL OF TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCIES FROM ABUNDANCE DETERMINATIONS: NGC 628
in The Astrophysical Journal
Potter A
(2012)
Towards a unified model of stellar rotation - II. Model-dependent characteristics of stellar populations Stellar populations including rotation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Potter A
(2012)
Towards a unified model of stellar rotation Towards a unified model of stellar rotation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Xue Y
(2012)
TRACKING DOWN THE SOURCE POPULATION RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UNRESOLVED COSMIC 6-8 keV BACKGROUND
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rein H
(2012)
Traditional formation scenarios fail to explain 4:3 mean motion resonances Traditional formation scenarios and the 4:3 resonance
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hodgkin ST
(2013)
Transient astronomy with the Gaia satellite.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Deason A
(2014)
TriAnd and its siblings: satellites of satellites in the Milky Way halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bowden A
(2013)
Triaxial cosmological haloes and the disc of satellites
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Canizares P
(2011)
Tuning time-domain pseudospectral computations of the self-force on a charged scalar particle
in Classical and Quantum Gravity