Witnessing the Formation of Galaxies from their Origins to the Present

COFFEE_KLATCH · Invited

Abstract

In 1977, Steven Weinberg stated that "the formation of galaxies is one of the great outstanding problems of astrophysics". This statement remains valid 30 years later, although we have made significant progress. One of the great triumphs of astrophysics is that we are able to predict the growth of dark-matter structures in our Universe with high accuracy. I will discuss how we use observations of galaxies trace these dark matter structures, and how we use observations of some of the most distant galaxies to measure directly the properties of galaxies as they evolve. I focus on results from very deep surveys from telescopes centered around imaging in the Infrared (beyond 1 micron), including data from the Magellan Observatory in Chile, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory. With data from these telescopes we have measured the star-formation history, stellar-mass assembly, and structural formation of galaxies like the Milky Way Galaxy over the past 10 billion years of history. I will discuss ongoing and future research to understand the "formation epochs" of galaxies, where the ultimate goal is to form a coherent physical theory for galaxy formation.

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Authors

  • Harry A. Atwater

    Institute for Advanced Physics and Mathematics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Baylor University, baylor university, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou University, Trinity University, University of New Hampshire, Los Alamos National Lab, Southwest Research Institute, University of Texas San Antonio, Texas A&M University, Department of Physics, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX78666, None, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100094, P.R. China, The State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, China, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan, Lamar University, NIST, NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory,Thermodynamic Metrology Laboratory, Rice University, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A\&M University, Russian Quantum Center, Physics Department, International Laser Center, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Baylor University, Texas A&M University, Princeton University, Baylor University, Texas A&M University, Florida State University, Univ of Texas, Dallas, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, University of Houston, Physics and Astronomy, Material Science and Eng,Texas A\&M University. WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, Physics and Astronomy, Texas A\&M University, Material Science and Eng., Texas A\&M University, Texas Christian University, Utaca College, University of Texas at Arlington, Angelo State University Physics & Geosciences Department, Texas State University, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Department of Physics, Lamar University, Texas Lutheran University, University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, Princeton University, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering (IQSE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4242, Texas A\&M University, Florida A&M University, Texas A&M University, Princeton University, Baylor University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, Texas A&M University and Baylor University, Abilene Christian University, Michigan State University, Argonne National Laboratory, Southern Methodist University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University 4242 TAMU College Station, Texas 77843-4242, The Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, Southern Nazarene University, Texas A&M University, Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, Texas 75080, USA, Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA, $^{1}$Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A\&M University, $^{1}$Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A\&M University, $^{2}$WPI-AIMR, Tohoku University, Japan, Department of Physics, Austin College, AMRIS/NHMFL, University of Florida, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Mississippi State University, The Methodist Hospital System, Biophotonic Solutions, Inc., University of Texas, Austin, California Insititute of Technology