Astronomy! Excitement! Galaxies!
Introduction
Galaxies are vast systems of stars, gas, dust and dark matter.
When studying their evolution, one of the important objects of
investigation is the galactic gas - star formation cycle. In a
simple picture of this cycle, the gas reservoir is made up of
atomic hydrogen (HI). In particular in regions of high density
and/or pressure, the HI condensates to form molecular hydrogen (H2),
which occurs in giant molecular clouds (GMCs). These GMCs are
the birthplaces of stars. After their formation, the stars go
through their life cycle, towards the end of which they return
part of their material back to the interstellar medium (ISM). The
material expelled by stars, either in stellar winds or through
supernovae, contains both hydrogen and metals. They cool and
settle into the galaxy’s gas reservoir. The metals enrich the
ISM and allow for dust growth. In addition to this internal
cycle of gas and stars, galaxies need to accrete gas from their
environments to be able to sustain star formation in the long
term. While the overall mechanisms are understood, there are
still open questions:
- What determines the amount of gas and dust in galaxies?
- Why are some galaxies outliers to scaling relations?
- What role do (gas) kinematics play in galaxy evolution?
- How do galaxies replenish their gas reservoir to be able
to sustain star formation in the future?
- What mechanisms influence the star formation process?
To answer these questions I am involved in several projects. Besides
the projects that I am leading (see to the left for more details),
I am also a member in these survey teams:
and a proud remote
member of the ISM*@ST group.
