Related papers: Feedback and the Formation of Dwarf Galaxy Stellar…
We compare the metallicity distribution of Galactic Halo stars with 3D realizations of hierarchical galaxy formation. Outflows from dwarf galaxies enrich the intergalactic medium inhomogeneously, at a rate depending on the local galaxy…
Most of the globular clusters in the main body of the Galactic halo were formed almost simultaneously. However, globular cluster formation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies appears to have extended over a significant fraction of a Hubble time.…
Understanding galaxy formation involves look-back and fossil-record studies of distant and nearby galaxies, respectively. Debris trails in our Galaxy's spheroidal halo of old stars provide evidence of "bottom-up" formation via tidal…
The cold dark matter halo mass function is much steeper than the galaxy stellar mass function on galactic and subgalactic scales. This difference is usually reconciled by assuming that the galaxy formation efficiency drops sharply with…
Photometry of a large field around the young globular cluster Palomar 12 has revealed the main-sequence of a low surface-brightness stellar system. This main-sequence is indicative of a stellar population that varies significantly in…
The origin and formation of globular clusters has remained a mystery. We present a formation scenario for ancient globular cluster-like objects that form in ultra-high resolution simulations (smallest cell size $<0.1\,\mathrm{pc}$, mass…
Mapping stars and gas in nearby galaxies is fundamental for understanding their growth and the impact of their environment. This issue is addressed by comparing the stellar "edges" of galaxies $D_{\rm stellar}$, defined as the outermost…
Late accretion models for formation of the Galactic halo require that many Galactic satellite galaxies have been cannibalised into the halo field. Comparison of the metallicity and age distribution function of stars in the surviving…
Dark matter-only simulations predict that dark matter halos have steep, cuspy inner density profiles, while observations of dwarf galaxies find a range of inner slopes that are often much shallower. There is debate whether this discrepancy…
We use a series of high-resolution N-body simulations of a `Milky-Way' halo, coupled to semi-analytic techniques, to study the formation of our own Galaxy and of its stellar halo. Our model Milky Way galaxy is a relatively young system…
Observations of local X-ray absorbers, high-velocity clouds, and distant quasar absorption line systems suggest that a significant fraction of baryons may reside in multi-phase, low-density, extended, ~100 kpc, gaseous halos around normal…
The relation between galaxies and dark matter halos reflects the combined effects of many distinct physical processes. Observations indicate that the $z=0$ stellar mass-halo mass (SMHM) relation has remarkably small scatter in stellar mass…
We present a semi-analytical model of high redshift galaxy formation. In our model the star formation inside a galaxy is regulated by the feedback from supernova (SNe) driven outflows. We derive a closed analytical form for star formation…
One of the primary goals when studying galaxy formation is to understand how the luminous component of the Universe, galaxies, relates to the growth of structure which is dominated by the gravitational collapse of dark matter haloes. The…
We present a study of the variation of spatial structure of stellar populations within dwarf galaxies as a function of the population age. We use deep Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging of nearby dwarf galaxies in…
Ghostly stellar haloes are extended haloes of stars composed solely of debris of pre-reionization fossil galaxies and should exist in dwarf galaxies with total masses $<10^{10}$ M$_\odot$. Fossil galaxies are even smaller mass dwarf…
Correlations between stellar kinematics and chemical abundances are fossil evidence for evolutionary connections between Galactic structural components. Extensive stellar surveys show that the only tolerably clear distinction between…
Dwarf galaxies are known to have remarkably low star formation efficiency due to strong feedback. Adopting the dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way as a laboratory, we explore a flexible semi-analytic galaxy formation model to understand how the…
Near-infrared surveys have now determined the luminosity functions of galaxies at 6<z<9 to impressive precision and identified a number of candidates at even earlier times. Here we develop a simple analytic model to describe these…
Any successful model of galaxy formation needs to explain the low rate of star formation in the small progenitors of today's galaxies. This inefficiency is necessary for reproducing the low stellar-to-virial mass fractions, suggested by…