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.
  • News
    IAC scientists publish in Nature Astronomy a practical guide to improve proposals and applications
    Científicos del IAC publican en Nature Astronomy una guía práctica para mejorar propuestas y solicitudes
  • Conference
    IAU Symposium 355. The Realm of the Low Surface Brightness Universe
    IAU Symposium 355 aims to survey the denizens of the low surface brightness skies, at all wavelengths and resolutions, to show the richness of physical...
  • Publication
    Identification of Superclusters and Their Properties in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Using the WHL Cluster Catalog
    Superclusters are the largest massive structures in the cosmic web, on tens to hundreds of megaparsec scales. They are the largest assembly of galaxy clusters...
  • Publication
    Identification of tidal features in deep optical galaxy images with convolutional neural networks
    Interactions between galaxies leave distinguishable imprints in the form of tidal features, which hold important clues about their mass assembly. Unfortunately...
  • Publication
    Identifying RR Lyrae Variable Stars in Six Years of the Dark Energy Survey
    We present a search for RR Lyrae stars using the full six-year data set from the Dark Energy Survey covering ∼5000 deg 2 of the southern sky. Using a multistage...
  • News
    Images from the Hubble Space Telescope and GRANTECAN help to show how the first galaxies were formed
    One of the most interesting questions for astrophysicists for the past few decades is how and when did the first galaxies form. One of the possible answers to...
  • Publication
    Imaging the Environment of a z = 6.3 Submillimeter Galaxy with SCUBA-2
    We describe a search for submillimeter emission in the vicinity of one of the most distant, luminous galaxies known, HerMES FLS3, at z = 6.34, exploiting it as...
  • Publication
    Impacts of Bar-driven Shear and Shocks on Star Formation
    Bars drive gas inflow. As the gas flows inward, shocks and shear occur along the bar dust lanes. Such shocks and shear can affect the star formation (SF) and...
  • Publication
    Implications for galaxy formation models from observations of globular clusters around ultradiffuse galaxies
    We present an analysis of Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular clusters (GCs) in six ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma cluster, a sample that...