The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has just announced the latest volume in its Conference Proceedings Series: "Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden
Side of Galaxy Formation"
(see AIP webpage)
edited by UCLan's Drs. Victor P. Debattista and Cristina C.
Popescu . The volume contains a comprehensive collection of articles
presented at the International Astrophysics Conference organised by UCLan
in Malta during October 19-23 2009.
Aimed at professional astronomers and graduate students, this set of
specialist papers is dedicated to new theoretical and observational results in
the field of galaxy formation. As advertised by AIP, this book is
"An invaluable reference for the understanding of the
interlinked physical processes leading to the observed populations and complex
structures of galaxies", highlighting the international reputation of the astrophysics research led at UCLan.
"Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation" was a big
international success for UCLan. Drs. Debattista and Popescu, the organisers
of the conference and chairs of the Scientific Organising Committee,
undertook the challenging task of bringing together researchers working in
different fields of extragalactic astrophysics, with the aim of developing a
more holistic view of galaxy formation. Dr. Guinevere
Kauffmann from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, who provided the
conference summary, noted
"Each of the sessions of the meeting was a
conference in its own right... A conference of extraordinary breath ... One of the most balanced conferences I have attended in terms of the mix between
theory and observations".
Prof. Gordon Bromage, director of UCLan's Jeremiah
Horrocks Institute
remarked in his welcome address: "I am very impressed and
pleased to note that there are delegates from no fewer than 22 different
contries! And we are here to compete, co-operate and confer on the Hidden Side
of Galaxy Formation" ( see
Welcome Address ). Indeed the meeting was
attended by over 150 scientists representing over 20 countries and was
one of the highlights in 2009 for the community working in
extragalactic astrophysics.
Galaxy formation is one of the outstanding problems in modern
cosmology. While the properties of the universe on large scales ---
such as the density of dark matter and dark energy --- are now known
to a high precision, the process by which galaxies form from these
cosmic raw materials are not known in detail. The reason for this is
the complexity involved: dark matter must first collapse
gravitationally, dragging along gas with it. As the latter cools, it
reaches densities high enough to form stars, which return chemical
elements into the gas medium. The gas may be heated by massive black
holes sitting at the centers of galaxies, perhaps halting altogether
star formation. All the while galaxies supplement their growth by
accreting smaller galaxies, leaving faint ghostly traces of their
past. The light reaching us recording these events is significantly
attenuated by dust, which may absorb up to half the light emitted by
stars. All these processes need to be considered when studying galaxy
formation. "Hunting for the Dark" was a unique conference in that it
sought to bring together these disparate communities of researchers.