Exploring the physical properties of local and distant galaxies through spectroscopic surveys

The goal of this PhD research project is to explore the physical properties of local and distant galaxies (hence exploring their evolution with cosmic time) primarily by adopting an observational approach and, in particular, by exploiting extensive spectroscopic surveys. The project will imply the analysis of both optical and near-IR spectroscopic data that, in many cases, will also provide spatially resolved information (i.e. integral field spectroscopy). This data will also be combined with information from imaging data, to obtain a comparison to morphological properties. The project will constrain the evolution of properties such as dust and chemical enrichment, ISM excitation (including presence of AGN and shocks), as a function of global and resolved galactic properties, such as star formation rate, stellar mass, galaxy dynamics, and as a function of redshift. The observational results will be compared with theoretical models and cosmological simulations to constrain the mechanisms and physical processes driving galaxy formation and evolution.