Related papers: Observational Evidence for Galaxy Evolution in the…
Surveys of the local and distant Universe are the means to test and improve our models of galaxy formation. Substantial successes in the models are evident, while there is also considerable recent progress in identifying what remains to be…
Local Group galaxies such as the Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds, and M31 are being used by a number of international collaborations to search for microlensing events. Type and number of detections place constraints on dark matter and the…
The connection between AGB evolution of stellar populations and infrared vs. ultraviolet properties of the parent galaxies is reviewed relying on the updated lookout provided by population-synthesis theory. In particular, planetary-nebula…
We review recent scientific results from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer with special emphasis on star formation in nearby resolved galaxies.
Planetary nebulae have been used as tracers of light and kinematics for the stellar populations in early-type galaxies since more than twenty years. Several empirical properties have surfaced: for example the invariant bright cut-off of the…
After a recall of fundamental concepts used in galactic dynamics, we review observational facts as well as results of orbit theory and numerical simulations which suggest long-term evolution of galaxies. Dynamical interactions between…
I review progress in understanding the evolution of normal field and cluster galaxies through the combination of HST imaging and ground-based spectroscopy. These data suggest that the bulk of the star formation producing the present-day…
Galaxy haloes contain fundamental clues about the galaxy formation and evolution process: hierarchical cosmological models predict haloes to be ubiquitous, and to be (at least in part) the product of past merger and/or accretion events. The…
The nearby galaxies of the Local Group can act as our laboratories in helping to bridge the gap between theory and observations. In this review we will describe the complications of identifying samples of OB stars, yellow and red…
In this review I outline some ideas in chemical evolution, necessary for understanding the evolution of galaxies from measured elemental abundance ratios. I then discuss abundance results from studies of Local Group dwarf galaxies and the…
Stellar halos around galaxies retain fundamental evidence of the processes which lead to their build up. Sophisticated models of galaxy formation in a cosmological context yield quantitative predictions about various observable…
We use detailed modeling of stellar populations of nearby galaxies to calculate population parameters. Our sample of galaxies includes most galaxies of the Local Group and several more distant giant galaxies. Available data are sufficient…
Nearby dwarf galaxies are local analogues of high-redshift and metal-poor stellar populations. Most of these systems ceased star formation long ago, but they retain signatures of their past that can be unraveled by detailed study of their…
Galactic bulges are central to understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Here we report on recent studies using micro-lensing events to obtain spectra of high resolution and moderately high signal-to-noise ratios of dwarf stars in the…
Galaxy evolution reveals itself not only through the evolving properties of galaxies themselves but also through its impact on the surrounding environment. The intergalactic medium in particular holds a fossil record of past galaxy…
Near-field cosmology -- using detailed observations of the Local Group and its environs to study wide-ranging questions in galaxy formation and dark matter physics -- has become a mature and rich field over the past decade. There are…
We review knowledge of galaxy structures obtained by their emitted light and in the local universe where they can be studied in great detail. We discuss the shapes of, and stellar motions within, galaxies, compositional clues derived from…
Status quo and perspectives of standard chemical evolution models of Local Group galaxies are summarized, discussing what we have learnt from them, what we know we have not learnt yet, and what I think we will learn in the near future. It…
The Local Group provides an interesting and representative sample of galaxies in the rest of the Universe. The high accuracy with which many problems can be addressed in Local Group galaxies is of paramount importance for understanding…
Although it is just over a year since the data was made public, the HDF exposure has stimulated considerable progress towards our understanding of the faint galaxy population. I present a brief personal account of the history of faint…