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 Fifteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release of MaNGA-derived Quantities, Data Visualization Tools, and Stellar Library
    Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its...
  • Publication
    The Filling Factor-Radius Relation for 58 H II Regions across the Disk of NGC 6946
    Using the OSIRIS tunable narrowband imager on the 10.4 m GTC (La Palma), we have mapped the SAB(rs)cd galaxy NGC 6946 over a ~7.3 × 7.5 arcmin2 field in the...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: birthplaces of direct collapse black holes
    We investigate the environment in which direct-collapse black holes may form by analysing a cosmological, hydrodynamical simulation that is part of the First...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: constraining the dust attenuation law of star-forming galaxies at z ≃ 5
    We present the results of a study investigating the dust attenuation law at z ≃ 5, based on synthetic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) calculated for a...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: dark matter haloes going from contraction to expansion and back again
    We study the effect of baryons on the inner dark matter profile of the first galaxies using the First Billion Years simulation between z = 16 and 6 before...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: Finding infant globular clusters at z = 6
    Aims: We aim to conduct an assessment of the demographics of substructures in cosmological simulations to identify low-mass stellar systems at high redshift...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: gamma-ray bursts at z > 5
    Long gamma-ray burst's (LGRB's) association with the death of massive stars suggests that they could be used to probe the cosmic star formation history (CSFH)...
  • Publication
    The First Billion Years project: the escape fraction of ionizing photons in the epoch of reionization
    Protogalaxies forming in low-mass dark matter haloes are thought to provide the majority of ionizing photons needed to reionize the Universe, due to their high...
  • Publication
    The first Frontier Fields cluster: 4.5 μm excess in a z ~ 8 galaxy candidate in Abell 2744
    Aims: We present in this letter the first analysis of a z ~ 8 galaxy candidate found in the Hubble and Spitzer imaging data of Abell 2744 as part of the Hubble...