RUI: Formation and Evolution of Galactic Disks in a Cosmological Setting

AST 0206251

Heller

Dr. Heller and his collaborator will conduct a broad based study of galactic disk formation and evolution, examining the role of non-axisymmetric instabilities in driving the formation and evolution of all components of disk galaxies, including the gaseous and stellar disk, bulge, and halo in a cosmologically relevant setting. Galaxy disks are believed to form over an extended period of time, growing from the inside out. Star formation in the disk will convert gas to stars, perhaps also forming a bulge. However, this simple picture will not be non- axisymmetric instabilities. Since even mild oval distortions can be efficient engines of structural change, these instabilities can drive gas toward the center of a forming galaxy produce profound changes in the structure and stability of all the galactic components. This mechanism can produce a rich assortment of possible evolutionary paths for a galaxy.

This study will focus on the following aspects of the problem: 1) Disk formation in triaxial halos. 2) Analysis of the effects of star formation on the long-term stability of the disk and flow rates. 3) Analysis of the secular evolution of stellar bars, and their role in disk-halo coupling. 4) Analyses of the broader question of how the different cosmological parameters affect the formation and evolution of disk galaxies.. 5) Determination of the effects of a background UV radiation field on the formation and evolution of low mass disk galaxies. These analyses will be done using numerical simulations. The project will involve the active participation of a professor and his students at an undergraduate institution and will include the establishment of a state-of-the-art Linux computer at that institution, providing the undergraduates with hands-on computer systems experience. Technical support for this development will be provided by personnel at the University of Kentucky. This award is made under the auspices of the Research at Undergraduate Institutions program.

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