Spiral Galaxies: Evolution and Consequences

    General
    Description

    Our small group is well known and respected internationally for our innovative and important work on various aspects of the structure and evolution of nearby spiral galaxies. We primarily use observations at various wavelengths, exploiting synergies that allow us to answer the most pertinent questions relating to what the main properties of galaxies are, and how galaxies have evolved to their current state. We use imaging and spectroscopy, at UV, optical, infrared, millimetre, and radio wavelengths, fully exploiting observing facilities available to us in Spain, at ESO, or elsewhere, along with state-of-the-art analysis tools. The success of this approach can be measured from the employment opportunities offered to ex-members of the group, from the number and quality of collaborations with leading external scientists, from continued citation of our published work, and from invitations to co-organise or speak at the leading international conferences in the field.

    In the last few years our group has put a lot of effort into opening up joint research lines with computer scientists, recognising the paradigm shift that is upon us due to the enormous quantities of data that will soon be produced by facilities such as LSST, Euclid, and SKA. We collaborate with computer scientists and aim to prepare the analysis tools, including detection of structure from noise, correction for scattered light and Galactic cirrus, and the use of machine learning-based techniques, so that once LSST (2020) and Euclid (2023) start releasing their huge data sets, our group is ready to analyse them and extract the science from the oceans of bytes.

    1. From thermal and non-thermal radio maps of the centre of NGC 1097, we discovered that the massive star formation is quenched by non-thermal effects, including pressure from the magnetic field, cosmic rays and turbulence.
    2. In the centre of NGC 7742, we found a slightly warped inner disk, and two separate stellar components: an old population that counter-rotates with the gas, and a young one, concentrated to the ring, that co-rotates with the gas.
    3. We re-analysed our deep IR imaging of thick disks to correct for the extended S4G point spread function (PSF), confirming all our previous results and in particular confirming the significant mass present in the thick disk component.
    4. Analysing a new high-resolution e-MERLIN 1.5 GHz radio continuum map together with HST and SDSS imaging of NGC 5322, an elliptical galaxy hosting radio jets, we found that the low-luminosity AGN/jet-driven feedback may have quenched the late-time nuclear star formation promptly.
    5. From MUSE observations of low-surface-brightness Lyman-α emission surrounding faint galaxies at redshifts between 3 and 6 we find that the projected sky coverage approaches 100 per cent.

    Related publications

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      Dwarf galaxies are excellent cosmological probes, because their shallow potential wells make them very sensitive to the key processes that drive galaxy evolution, including baryonic feedback, tidal interactions, and ram pressure stripping. However, some of the key parameters of dwarf galaxies, which help trace the effects of these processes, are

      Watkins, A. E. et al.

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      5
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    • Evidence for globular cluster collapse after a dwarf-dwarf merger: A potential nuclear star cluster in formation

      Direct observational evidence for the creation of nuclear star clusters (NSCs) is needed to support the proposed scenarios for their formation. We analysed the dwarf galaxy UGC 7346, located in the peripheral regions of the Virgo Cluster, to highlight a series of properties that indicate the formation of a NSC caught in its earlier stages. First

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    • A giant umbrella-like stellar stream around the tidal ring galaxy NGC 922

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    • Prospects for future studies using deep imaging: analysis of individual Galactic cirrus filaments

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    • Star formation in outer rings of S0 galaxies. V. UGC 4599: An S0 with gas probably accreted from a filament

      Aims: Though S0 galaxies are usually thought to be `red and dead', they often demonstrate weak star formation organised in ring structures and located in their outer disks. We try to clarify the nature of this phenomenon and its difference from star formation in spiral galaxies. The nearby moderate-luminosity S0 galaxy UGC 4599 is studied here

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    • First detection of the outer edge of an AGN accretion disc: very fast multiband optical variability of NGC 4395 with GTC/HiPERCAM and LT/IO:O

      We present fast (~200 s sampling) $\it ugriz$ photometry of the low -mass AGN NGC 4395 with the Liverpool Telescope, followed by very fast (3 s sampling) us, gs, rs, is, and zs simultaneous monitoring with HiPERCAM on the 10.4m GTC. These observations provide the fastest ever AGN multiband photometry and very precise lag measurements. Unlike in all

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    • The Isaac Newton Telescope Monitoring Survey of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies. V. The Star Formation History of Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy Derived from Long-period Variable Stars

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    • Launching the VASCO Citizen Science Project

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      10
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    • Linking star formation thresholds and truncations in the thin and thick disks of the low-mass galaxy UGC 7321

      Thin and thick disks are found in most spiral galaxies, yet their formation scenarios remain uncertain. Whether thick disks form through slow or fast, internal or environmental, processes is unclear. The physical origin of outer truncations in thin and thick disks, observed as a drop in optical and near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness profiles

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      11
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    • Cloud-scale radio surveys of star formation and feedback in Triangulum Galaxy M 33: VLA observations

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      12
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    • The edges of galaxies: Tracing the limits of star formation

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      11
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    • How to write and develop your astronomy research paper

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    • Extragalactic Magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). III. First Data Release and On-the-fly Polarization Mapping Characterization

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      9
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    • Preparing for low surface brightness science with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Characterization of tidal features from mock images

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      Martin, G. et al.

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      6
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    • Stellar masses, sizes, and radial profiles for 465 nearby early-type galaxies: An extension to the Spitzer survey of stellar structure in Galaxies (S<SUP>4</SUP>G)

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    • The multifarious ionization sources and disturbed kinematics of extraplanar gas in five low-mass galaxies

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      3
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    • The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar, and APOGEE-2 Data

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    • Implications for galaxy formation models from observations of globular clusters around ultradiffuse galaxies

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    • LeMMINGs - IV. The X-ray properties of a statistically complete sample of the nuclei in active and inactive galaxies from the Palomar sample

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      Williams, D. R. A. et al.

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      3
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