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
    Massive Clumps in Local Galaxies: Comparisons with High-redshift Clumps
    Local UV-bright galaxies in the Kiso survey include clumpy systems with kiloparsec-size star complexes that resemble clumpy young galaxies in surveys at high...
  • Publication
    Massive quiescent galaxies at z 3: A comparison of selection, stellar population, and structural properties with simulation predictions
    We study stellar population and structural properties of massive log (M ⋆/M ⊙) > 11 galaxies at z ≈ 2.7 in the Magneticum and IllustrisTNG hydrodynamical...
  • Publication
    Massive Relic Galaxies Challenge the Co-evolution of Super-massive Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies
    We study a sample of eight massive galaxies that are extreme outliers (3–5σ) in the {M}\bullet ‑ Mbulge local scaling relation. Two of these galaxies are...
  • Publication
    Massive star formation in galaxies with excess ultraviolet emission
    From an analysis of almost 2000 Galaxy Evolution Explorer images of galaxies with morphological types ranging from E to Sab, we have found a significant subset...
  • Publication
    Measurements of CO Redshifts with Z-Spec for Lensed Submillimeter Galaxies Discovered in the H-ATLAS Survey
    We present new observations from Z-Spec, a broadband 185-305 GHz spectrometer, of five submillimeter bright lensed sources selected from the Herschel...
  • Publication
    Measurements of the Dust Properties in z ≃ 1-3 Submillimeter Galaxies with ALMA
    We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 2 mm continuum observations of a complete and unbiased sample of 99 870 μm selected submillimeter...
  • Publication
    Measures of star formation rates from infrared (Herschel) and UV (GALEX) emissions of galaxies in the HerMES fields
    The reliability of infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) emissions to measure star formation rates (SFRs) in galaxies is investigated for a large sample of...
  • Publication
    MEGARA, the R=6000-20000 IFU and MOS of GTC
    MEGARA is the new generation IFU and MOS optical spectrograph built for the 10.4m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC). The project was developed by a consortium led...
  • Publication
    Merger induced clump formation in distant infrared luminous starburst galaxies
    While the formation of stellar clumps in distant galaxies is usually attributed to gravitational violent disk instabilities, we show here that major mergers...