Start year
2006
Organizational Unit
Organizing institutions
Related grants:
General
Description
Welcome to the Traces of Galaxy Formation research group website.
We are a large, diverse, and very active research group aiming to provide a comprehensive picture for the formation of galaxies in the Universe. Rooted in detailed stellar population analysis, we are constantly exploring and developing new tools and ideas to understand how galaxies came to be what we now observe.
A complex star formation history, as the one expected to describe galaxy evolution, needs a multidisciplinary approach to be fully understood. Our group at the IAC consists of experienced researchers in cosmological simulations, dynamical studies, stellar populations and morphological properties of galaxies up to high redshift. We combine different approaches (e.g. observations and theory, secular and cosmological evolution studies) to obtain a complete view of the dominant mechanisms driving the evolution of galaxies.
Within this general framework, we are currently exploring three main areas of research:
- Stellar population synthesis models
- Development of new stellar population synthesis models
- Stellar population analysis tools
- Universality of the stellar initial mass function (IMF)
- Cosmic evolution of galaxies
- Massive galaxy evolution
- Stellar populations in different environments
- Low surface brightness science
- Machine learning and cosmological simulations
- Evolutionary processes in nearby galaxies
- The role of black holes in the evolution of galaxies
- Surveys of nearby galaxies
- Stellar kinematics and dynamical models
If you want to get in contact or work with us, please send an email to the head of the group (Ignacio Martín-Navarro ignacio.martin [at] iac.es (ignacio[dot]martin[at]iac[dot]es)).
Members
Principal investigator
Ignacio
Martín Navarro
Project staff
Ignacio
Trujillo Cabrera
Alexandre
Vazdekis Vazdekis
Ignacio Alfonso
Ferreras Páez
Jesús
Falcón Barroso
Marc
Huertas-Portocarrero Company
Adriana de
Lorenzo-Cáceres Rodríguez
Anna
Ferré Mateu
Regina
Sarmiento
Iveth Adaena
Gaspar Gorostieta
Eirini
Angeloudi
Giulia
Golini
Laura Elizabeth
Scholz Díaz
Pablo
Rodríguez Beltrán
Results
Here you can find some of our most recent highlights:
- Local variations of the stellar velocity ellipsoid - II. The effect of the bar in the inner regions of Auriga galaxies. Walo et al. 2022, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022MNRAS.513.4587W)
- Anisotropic satellite galaxy quenching modulated by black hole activity. Martín-Navarro et al. 2021, Nature (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Natur.594..187M)
- Evaluating hydrodynamical simulations with green valley galaxies. Angthopo et al. 2021, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021MNRAS.502.3685A)
- Sub one per cent mass fractions of young stars in red massive galaxies. Salvador-Rusiñol et al. 2020, Nature Astronomy (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020NatAs...4..252S)
- Detection of young stellar populations in apparently quenched low-mass galaxies using red spectral line indices. de Lorenzo-Cáceres et al. 2020, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020MNRAS.498.1002D)
Scientific activity
Related publications
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CAVITY, Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY and project extensionWe have learnt in the last decades that the majority of galaxies belong to high density regions interconnected in a sponge-like fashion. This large-scale structure is characterised by clusters, filaments, and walls, where most galaxies concentrate, but also under-dense regions called voids. The void regions and the galaxies within represent anSánchez-Menguiano, L. et al.
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Deriving the star formation histories of galaxies from spectra with simulation-based inferenceHigh-resolution galaxy spectra encode information about the stellar populations within galaxies. The properties of the stars, such as their ages, masses, and metallicities, provide insights into the underlying physical processes that drive the growth and transformation of galaxies over cosmic time. We explore a simulation-based inference (SBI)Iglesias-Navarro, Patricia et al.
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Do spiral arms enhance star formation efficiency?Spiral arms, as those of our own Milky Way, are some of the most spectacular features in disc galaxies. It has been argued that star formation should proceed more efficiently in spiral arms as a result of gas compression. Yet, observational studies have so far yielded contradictory results. Here, we examine arm/interarm surface density contrasts atQuerejeta, Miguel et al.
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[Mg/Fe] and variable initial mass function: Revision of [α/Fe] for massive galaxiesObservations of nearby massive galaxies have revealed that they are older and richer in metals and magnesium than their low-mass counterparts. In particular, the overabundance of magnesium compared to iron, [Mg/Fe], is interpreted to reflect the short star formation history that the current massive galaxies underwent early in the Universe. WePernet, Emilie et al.
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PHANGS-JWST: Data-processing Pipeline and First Full Public Data ReleaseThe exquisite angular resolution and sensitivity of JWST are opening a new window for our understanding of the Universe. In nearby galaxies, JWST observations are revolutionizing our understanding of the first phases of star formation and the dusty interstellar medium. Nineteen local galaxies spanning a range of properties and morphologies acrossWilliams, Thomas G. et al.
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PHANGS-HST Catalogs for ∼100,000 Star Clusters and Compact Associations in 38 Galaxies. I. Observed PropertiesWe present the largest catalog to date of star clusters and compact associations in nearby galaxies. We have performed a V-band-selected census of clusters across the 38 spiral galaxies of the PHANGS–Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Treasury Survey, and measured integrated, aperture-corrected near-ultraviolet-U-B-V-I photometry. This work has resultedMaschmann, Daniel et al.
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Radial gradients of CO absorptions and abundance ratios in the bulge of M31We present new H- and K-band spectroscopy for the bulge of M31, taken with the LUCI spectrograph at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We studied radial trends of CO absorption features (namely, CO1.58, CO1.60, CO1.64, CO1.66, CO1.68, CO2.30, CO2.32, and CO2.35) in the bulge of M31, out to a galactocentric distance of ∼100″ (∼380 pc). We findLa Barbera, F. et al.
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LIGHTS. Survey Overview and a Search for Low Surface Brightness Satellite GalaxiesWe present an overview of the LBT Imaging of Galactic Halos and Tidal Structures survey, which currently includes 25 nearby galaxies that are on average ∼1 mag fainter than the Milky Way, and a catalog of 54 low central surface brightness (24 < μ 0,g /mag arcsec ‑2 < 28) satellite galaxy candidates, most of which were previously uncatalogued. TheZaritsky, Dennis et al.
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The CAVITY project: The spatially resolved stellar population properties of galaxies in voidsThe Universe is shaped as a web-like structure, formed by clusters, filaments, and walls that leave large low number-density volumes in between named voids. Galaxies in voids have been found to be of a later type, bluer, less massive, and to have a slower evolution than galaxies in denser environments (filaments and walls). However, the effect ofConrado, Ana M. et al.
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Variation of the stellar initial mass function in semi-analytical models. III. Testing the cosmic-ray regulated integrated galaxy-wide initial mass functionContext. In our previous work, we derived the CR-IGIMF, which is a new scenario for a variable stellar initial mass function (IMF) that combines numerical results on the role played by cosmic rays (CR) in setting the thermal state of star-forming gas with the analytical approach of the integrated galaxy-wide IMF (IGIMF). Aims: In this work, weFontanot, Fabio et al.
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Unveiling the (in)consistencies among the galaxy stellar mass function, star formation histories, satellite abundances, and intracluster light from a semi-empirical perspectiveIn a hierarchical, dark matter-dominated Universe, stellar mass functions (SMFs), galaxy merger rates, star formation histories (SFHs), satellite abundances, and intracluster light (ICL), should all be intimately connected observables. However, the systematics affecting observations still prevent universal and uniform measurements of, for exampleFu, Hao et al.
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The MAGPI Survey: massive slow rotator population in place by z 0.3We use the 'Middle Ages Galaxy Properties with Integral field spectroscopy' (MAGPI) survey to investigate whether galaxies have evolved in the distribution of their stellar angular momentum in the past 3-4 Gyr, as probed by the observational proxy for spin, λ R. We use 2D stellar kinematics to measure λ R along with detailed photometric models toDerkenne, Caro et al.
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Impacts of Bar-driven Shear and Shocks on Star FormationBars 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 change the gas properties. For four barred galaxies, we present Hα velocity gradient maps that highlight bar-driven shocks and shear using data from the PHANGS-MUSE and PHANGS-ALMA surveysKim, Taehyun et al.
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The effects of environment on galaxies' dynamical structures: From simulations to observationsWe studied the effects of cluster environments on galactic structures by using the TNG50 cosmological simulation and observed galaxies in the Fornax cluster. We focused on galaxies with stellar masses of 10 8 − 12 M ⊙ at z = 0 that reside in Fornax-like clusters with total masses of M 200c = 10 13.4 − 14.3 M ⊙. We characterized the stellarDing, Y. et al.
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Baryonic properties of nearby galaxies across the stellar-to-total dynamical mass relationIn the standard cosmological model, the assembly of galaxies is primarily driven by the growth of their host dark matter halos. At the centre of these halos, however, baryonic processes take over, leading to the plethora of observed galaxy properties. The coupling between baryonic and dark matter physics is central to our understanding of galaxiesScholz-Díaz, Laura et al.
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INSPIRE: INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics - VI. The low-mass end slope of the stellar initial mass function and chemical compositionThe INSPIRE project has built the largest sample of ultra-compact massive galaxies (UCMGs) at 0.1 < z < 0.4 and obtained their star formation histories (SFHs). Due to their preserved very old stellar populations, relics are the perfect systems to constrain the earliest epochs of mass assembly in the Universe and the formation of massive early-typeMaksymowicz-Maciata, Michalina et al.
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Modelling of surface brightness fluctuation measurements. Methodology, uncertainty, and recommendationsAims: The goal of this work is to scrutinise the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) calculation methodology. We analysed the SBF derivation procedure, measured the accuracy of the fitted SBF under controlled conditions, retrieved the uncertainty associated with the variability of a system that is inherently stochastic, and studied the SBFRodríguez-Beltrán, P. et al.
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Hidden Gems on a Ring: Infant Massive Clusters and Their Formation Timeline Unveiled by ALMA, HST, and JWST in NGC 3351We use 0.1″ observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and JWST to study young massive clusters (YMCs) in their embedded "infant" phase across the central starburst ring in NGC 3351. Our new ALMA data reveal 18 bright and compact (sub-)millimeter continuum sources, of which 8 have counterparts in JWSTSun, Jiayi et al.
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A Catalogue and analysis of ultra-diffuse galaxy spectroscopic propertiesIn order to facilitate the future study of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs), we compile a catalogue of their spectroscopic properties. Using it, we investigate some of the biases inherent in the current UDG sample that have been targeted for spectroscopy. In comparison to a larger sample of UDGs studied via their spectral energy distributions (SED)Gannon, Jonah S. et al.
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Analysis of galaxies at the extremes: a kinematic analysis of the Virgo cluster dwarfs VCC 9 and VCC 1448 using the Keck cosmic web imagerWe present spatially resolved Keck Cosmic Web Imager stellar spectroscopy of the Virgo cluster dwarf galaxies VCC 9 and VCC 1448. These galaxies have similar stellar masses and large half-light radii but very different globular cluster (GC) system richness (~25 versus ~99 GCs). Using the KCWI data, we spectroscopically confirm 10 GCs associatedGannon, Jonah S. et al.
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