Galaxy Formation and Evolution
We live in the era of precision cosmology and well-developed stellar astrophysics. Nonetheless, we still lack a consistent observational and theoretical framework able to explain the large scale star formation in the Universe and successfully account for the stunning observed variety in galaxy properties.
Doing research in galaxy formation and evolution means being at the forefront of modern astrophysics and cosmology. We work in a large variety of areas: from direct observations of primeval galaxies at very high redshift, to the effect of accreting supermassive black holes on their host galaxy and the modelling of observed chemical abundances in the nearby Universe to constrain the galactic history of star formation.
Our group, led by Prof. Roberto Maiolino and Dr. Sandro Tacchella, offers a very active observational program, with world-leading expertise in (sub)-millimetre single dish and interferometric observations and optical and near-IR integral field spectroscopy. We are also heavily involved in the design, planning and delivery of future large projects (like MOONS at VLT and HIRES at ELT), promising to completely revolutionise the state of the field in coming years. We lead the development and analysis of theoretical models to interpret our observations and to draw inspiration for new observational projects.
If you are interested in finding out more, check out our recent publications and our our research themes.
Our group kindly acknowledges support and funding from the STFC (the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council), the Royal Society, and ERC (the European Research Council).
