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
    The centres of M83 and the Milky Way: opposite extremes of a common star formation cycle
    In the centres of the Milky Way and M83, the global environmental properties thought to control star formation are very similar. However, M83's nuclear star...
  • Publication
    The Chandra COSMOS Survey. III. Optical and Infrared Identification of X-Ray Point Sources
    The Chandra COSMOS Survey (C-COSMOS) is a large, 1.8 Ms, Chandra program that has imaged the central 0.9 deg2 of the COSMOS field down to limiting depths of 1.9...
  • Publication
    The circumburst density profile around GRB progenitors: a statistical study
    According to our present understanding, long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from the collapse of massive stars, while short bursts are caused by to the...
  • Publication
    The circumnuclear environment of NGC 613: a nuclear starburst caught in the act?
    We present near-infrared (H- and K-band) integral-field observations of the inner ˜700 pc of the active spiral galaxy NGC 613, obtained with SINFONI on the Very...
  • Publication
    The Cluster-EAGLE project: a comparison of dynamical mass estimators using simulated clusters
    Forthcoming large-scale spectroscopic surveys will soon provide data on thousands of galaxy clusters. It is important that the systematics of the various mass...
  • Publication
    The Cluster-EAGLE project: global properties of simulated clusters with resolved galaxies
    We introduce the Cluster-EAGLE (c-eagle) simulation project, a set of cosmological hydrodynamical zoom simulations of the formation of 30 galaxy clusters in the...
  • Publication
    The Cluster-EAGLE project: velocity bias and the velocity dispersion-mass relation of cluster galaxies
    We use the Cluster-EAGLE simulations to explore the velocity bias introduced when using galaxies, rather than dark matter particles, to estimate the velocity...
  • Publication
    The clustering of galaxies in the completed SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Cosmological implications of the configuration-space clustering wedges
    We explore the cosmological implications of anisotropic clustering measurements in configuration space of the final galaxy samples from Data Release 12 of the...
  • Publication
    The clustering of galaxies in the completed SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Cosmological implications of the Fourier space wedges of the final sample
    We extract cosmological information from the anisotropic power-spectrum measurements from the recently completed Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS)...