GEPI

From instrumental design
to scientific exploitation
Home > Séminaires > Probing the assembly of galaxies (...)

Probing the assembly of galaxies at early epochs with 3D spectroscopy

Thierry Contini (IRAP — OMP)

The formation and evolution of large-scale structures in the universe
is now quite well understood thanks mainly to the recent progress of
cosmological simulations. However, the complex physical processes
at the origin of the assembly of galaxies inside the dark matter halos
remain very puzzling. How do galaxies accrete their gas to grow up via
their star formation? What are the main mecanisms regulating this star
formation at the galaxy scale? Do environment play a leading role in
galaxy evolution? Large and deep surveys of the local and
distant universe, tracking statistically the physical
properties of galaxies over more than 10 Gyr, bring some answers to
these questions. However, detailled studies of galaxies at different
epochs are now mandatory to understand in fine the physical processes
at the origin of the assembly of baryonic matter in the universe.
3D spectroscopy with the largest ground-based telescopes has proven to
be a powerful tool to adress these fundamental questions, allowing
detailled studies of galaxy physical properties at early epochs.
I will review the last results in this field as well as the mid-term
prospects focusing on high-redshift galaxies caught in the act of
assembly!