Final Report Summary - SFEHG (The Star Formation and Enrichment Histories of Galaxies)
Another significant area of research being carried out has concentrated on providing information on distant galaxies that would be detailed enough to allow comparison to the Milky Way. Specifically, the enrichment of material in galaxies with time can be studied in the Milky Way on a star-by-star basis. Distant galaxies cannot be resolved into single stars so the same analysis is not possible. However, we have now shown that one can obtain information on subpopulations of stars within distant galaxies from the integrated spectropscoy. Comparison to the Milky Way then shows that massive galaxies grow in a way that is fundamentally different. While in the Milky Way, subsequent generations of stars are made out of the gas reservoir of the Galaxy, in massive galaxies, the stars being added have no relaton to the stars already present. They have been added by merging of smaller, independent galaxies into the already present massive galaxy. Following onto this work, we have been able to use the same data to extend our knowledge on the stars that create heavy elements in galaxies. With precisely determined ages and element abundances in those massive galaxies, we were able to determine on what timescale supernova explosions occur after the creation of a new stellar generation.
Method development is a more long term activity, but in particular the method of spectroscopy surface brightness fluctuations and methods to compare simulations to actual observations have been improved and will lead to results in the next years.
At the host institution (AIP) one bachelor student and three PhD students work in the fellows group, with one bachelor and one master thesis already successfully defended. Also, two undergraduate students were hired as research assistants, one of whom has found a position in industry based on the skills learned at AIP. During the funding period the fellow has transited from a normal postdoc position to a permanent staff position, in accordance with the goals of the Career Integration Grant.
Several outreach activities were undertaken, in particular, an outreach image for the CALIFA survey was created and retweeted, shared on facebook and just generally acknowledged by the wide astronomical community. It is available from http://califaserv.caha.es/CALIFA/DATA/Figs/CALIFA_HexRGB.jpg