Understanding diversity: chemical and kinematic tracers of galaxy evolution (2022-2025)
Abstract
Understanding how galaxies form and evolve throughout the Universe is one of the biggest outstanding challenges in astrophysics. The project aims to develop an innovative method for understanding the fundamental properties of angular momentum and chemical content of all kinds of galaxies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of galaxy evolution, for the first time enabling astronomers to robustly compare distant, long-ago galaxies with those in the nearby, present-day Universe. Expected outcomes include a novel framework for determining galaxy morphology, based on fundamental physics. The framework will be highly beneficial to understanding the evolution of diverse types of galaxies, including our own Milky Way.
