Galaxies are not static—they grow, merge, and change over billions of years, and astronomers at the University of Nottingham are using telescopes, supercomputers, and gravitational lensing to piece together how that happens. This research tackles a fundamental gap in our understanding: how did the chaotic early Universe produce the orderly spiral and elliptical galaxies we see today? The team combines three approaches—dissecting thousands of nearby galaxies in unprecedented detail through the MaNGA project, observing distant galaxies as they formed billions of years ago, and running supercomputer simulations that model galaxy evolution from start to finish. They also use gravitational lensing, where massive objects warp spacetime and act as natural magnifying lenses, to map the distribution of matter across the cosmos with high precision. This is fundamental science with no immediate practical application. But similar curiosity-driven work in the past—such as the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation or the development of digital image sensors for astronomy—has led to unexpected technologies, from medical imaging to smartphone cameras. A deeper understanding of galaxy formation could, over decades, feed into advances in data analysis, machine learning, or computational modelling that find uses far beyond astronomy.
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The main focus of our research in Nottingham is to understand how galaxies form and how they evolve through time to produce the rich variety of structures we see today. We tackle these problems with a number of complementary approaches. One approach is to study relatively nearby galaxies, which we can observe in greater detail. In Nottingham we are involved in a large international project (MaNGA), designed to dissect thousands of local galaxies and extract far more information than was previously possible. At the other extreme, we also specialise in studying very distant galaxies, observing them in the act of formation and transformation many billions of years ago. Due to the finite speed of light, when we observe very distant galaxies we are also looking far back in time, allowing us to observe galaxy evolution at different stages throughout the history of the Universe. Another aim of our research is to understand the roles of "nature" versus "nurture" in shaping galaxy evolution, and in particular how they are influenced by the environments in which they reside. We tackle these varied and challenging problems using a combination of observational techniques, using some of the largest telescopes in the world and in space, combined with theoretical studies and computer simulations. With the latest supercomputers we can create models to simulate the formation of galaxies and the growth of cosmic structures. Many of the most interesting discoveries occur when we confront our models with the latest data, to directly test our understanding of the key processes shaping the Universe. We also use gravitational lensing, a novel technique that exploits the warping of space time by massive objects, which allows us to map the distribution of matter and structure in the Universe to great precision. Finally, we are also developing new "machine learning" tools to help the astronomical community analyse the vast amounts of data that are now routinely produced by astronomical observations and simulations.
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