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
Werner N
(2010)
Feedback under the microscope - II. Heating, gas uplift and mixing in the nearest cluster core AGN heating and gas uplift in M87
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Westmoquette M
(2013)
Piecing together the puzzle of NGC 5253: abundances, kinematics and WR stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wickramasinghe D
(2010)
Does GD 356 have a terrestrial planetary companion?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkins D
(2013)
The origin of the lag spectra observed in AGN: Reverberation and the propagation of X-ray source fluctuations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkins D
(2012)
Testing the accuracy of radiative cooling approximations in smoothed particle hydrodynamical simulations Testing radiative cooling approximations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkins D
(2012)
Understanding X-ray reflection emissivity profiles in AGN: locating the X-ray source X-ray reflection emissivity profiles in AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkins D
(2011)
Determination of the X-ray reflection emissivity profile of 1H 0707-495 The emissivity profile of 1H 0707-495
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Williams A
(2014)
Hamiltonians of spherical Galaxies in action-angle coordinates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Williams A
(2014)
Hamiltonians of spherical Galaxies in action-angle coordinates
Williams M
(2011)
THE DAWNING OF THE STREAM OF AQUARIUS IN RAVE
in The Astrophysical Journal