The Interstellar Medium

The process of star formation in galaxies requires the conversion of the available gas reservoir into stars and is the engine for the metal enrichment and dust pollution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the flow of baryons within and outside galaxies. Specifically, our group is engaged in studies of:

• The physics of the star formation cycle: probing HII regions, molecular clouds, and stellar complexes in galaxies to understand their formation and evolution across the disc, and the role of feedback with the goal of linking star formation on small scales to global galaxy properties.

• Metallicities in star-forming galaxies: measurements of gas-phase metallicity in galaxies across cosmic time to determine the chemical evolution history of the Universe. The production and mixing of metals in galaxy discs in local galaxies, across different physical environments (low-metallicity, isolated galaxies, galaxy clusters). Photoionisation models of HII regions and development of new methods for measuring metallicity.

• Galactic winds and feedback from star formation: studying the impact of feedback at both small and large scales, and its role from the local Universe to Cosmic Noon.

• Dust grains: formation, evolution and survival of and IR spectral energy distributions: comparison of theoretical predictions and observations in primordial objects; physics of dust, in particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different physical environments. Observations and modelling of SEDs of nearby galaxies from the UV/optical to the FIR/sub-mm/radio; assessment of dust absorption and emission in relation to star formation histories.