Lines of research: Formation & Evolution of Galaxies (FYEG)

Formation & Evolution of Galaxies (FYEG)

Galaxies are formed progressively through a complex combination of gas accretion, star formation and merger processes with other galaxies. The aim of the Galaxy Formation & Evolution research line is to unveil the physical mechanisms responsible for the most significant transformations in these objects. The research team that makes up the research line is strongly involved in the development of forefront instrumentation (EMIR, FRIDA, GTCAO, HARMONI, OSIRIS, WEAVE) and has an important role in the scientific exploitation and  development of international projects (SDSS, EUCLID, LSST) for the study of the formation and evolution of galaxies.

 
The line stands out for studies on the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way (including its system of globular clusters and satellite galaxies), the characterisation of stellar populations and dynamics of nearby galaxies, the cycle of activity of supermassive black holes at the centres of  galaxies, the conditions of the interstellar medium in the first galaxies, and the role of dark matter in their evolution. Besides, thanks to the recently created simulations group, we also aim to relate observations with theory by means of numerical models over cosmological volumes and thus obtain predictions for future observations.
  • Publication
    Synapses of active galactic nuclei:. Comparing X-ray and optical classifications using artificial neural networks
    Context. Many classes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been defined entirely through optical wavelengths, while the X-ray spectra have been very useful to...
  • Publication
    Synchrotron emission from the blazar PG 1553+113. An analysis of its flux and polarization variability
    In 2015 July 29-September 1, the satellite XMM-Newton pointed at the BL Lac object PG 1553+133 six times, collecting data for 218 h. During one of these epochs...
  • Publication
    Systematic Search for Extremely Metal-poor Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    We carry out a systematic search for extremely metal-poor (XMP) galaxies in the spectroscopic sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data release 7 (DR7)...
  • Publication
    Systematic Search for γ-Ray Periodicity in Active Galactic Nuclei Detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
    We use nine years of γ-ray data provided by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) to systematically study the light curves (LCs) of more than 2000 active...
  • Talk
    Tango for three and ballet for thirty: the interaction of the Milky Way with its satellites
    I discuss the dynamical interactions between the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies, focusing on the closest and most massive satellites - the Large...
  • News
    TESS satellite dates an ancient collision with our galaxy
    From a single bright star in the constellation of Indus, an international team of scientists led by the University of Birmingham, with the participation of...
  • Publication
    Testing Microvariability in Quasar Differential Light Curves Using Several Field Stars
    Microvariability consists of small timescale variations of low amplitude in the photometric light curves of quasars and represents an important tool to...
  • Publication
    Testing Physical Scenarios for the Reflection Features of Type-1 AGNs using XMM-Newton and NuSTAR Simultaneous Observations
    Above ~3 keV, the X-ray spectrum of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is characterized by the intrinsic continuum and Compton reflection features. For type-1 AGNs...
  • Publication
    Testing the AGN Unification Model in the Infrared
    We present near-to-mid-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 21 Seyfert galaxies, using subarcsecond resolution imaging data. Our aim is to compare...