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
Pinto C
(2012)
Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 IX. The Galactic foreground
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tafelmeyer M
(2010)
Extremely metal-poor stars in classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies: Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mislis D
(2012)
Estimating transiting exoplanet masses from precise optical photometry
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Krühler T
(2011)
The SEDs and host galaxies of the dustiest GRB afterglows
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rossi A
(2011)
The Swift/ Fermi GRB 080928 from 1 eV to 150 keV
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cormier D
(2014)
The molecular gas reservoir of 6 low-metallicity galaxies from the Herschel Dwarf Galaxy Survey A ground-based follow-up survey of CO(1-0), CO(2-1), and CO(3-2)
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
Marinucci A
(2010)
The X-ray spectral signatures from the complex circumnuclear regions in the Compton thick AGN NGC 424
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Conrad C
(2014)
A RAVE investigation on Galactic open clusters I. Radial velocities and metallicities?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Botticella M
(2012)
A comparison between star formation rate diagnostics and rate of core collapse supernovae within 11 Mpc
in Astronomy & Astrophysics