Milky Way as a Galaxy

This is a PhD level course in astrophysics.

Galaxy formation and evolution is a central topic in modern astrophysics, and be studied in many different ways. In this course we make use of the perspective termed “Near field Cosmology”, i.e. we use the Milky Way as a detailed example to study galaxy formation and evolution. The course covers modern observations of the Milky Way, including what we can learn from large surveys using a range of observational techniques such as, but not limited to, astrometry and stellar spectroscopy. This provides one of the two main branches of the course. The other branch focuses on modelling of galaxy formation, both cosmologically informed as well as dynamical modelling, with the aim to tension modelling and observations to provide deeper understanding of how the Milky Way formed and evolved. During the course, students work with the latest literature and gain understanding of the development of the field. The students are required to think further and deeper about the topic. This is, for example, examined in terms of suggestions for new large observational projects.

Contact

Sofia Feltzing, sofia [at] astro [dot] lu [dot] se