Rationale

The goal of galaxy evolution studies is to fully understand the rich physics that shape galaxy properties at different epochs. To a large extent, tracing galaxy evolution means delineating both the history of gas flows in and out of galaxies and the transformation of such gas into stars. Any process affecting the gas content of galaxies, or its ability to form new stars, is thus relevant to explain the star formation activity and histories, the stellar masses and the structural properties of galaxies.

The focus of this meeting will be on the physical processes responsible for the stellar and gaseous histories of galaxies. The meeting will showcase results from observations and simulations of galaxies in different environments and at different redshifts. It will be a venue for discussion with the aim to try to delineate a coherent picture of the physics driving the star formation activity and the connections with and among the various gas phases. A special emphasis will be given to spatially resolved studies, linking together multi-wavelength results. 

The guiding thread of the conference will be the state-of-the-art, holistic knowledge of physical processes in galaxies as obtained from three main lines of research:

1. The multi-phase gas and its link with star formation in and around galaxies

2. Star formation from the clump to the galactic scale

3. The histories of galaxies in clusters, groups, filaments and voids 

The main questions addressed during the meeting will be:

• How do different physical mechanisms regulate gas inflows and outflows, and what are their effects on the star formation activity? What is the role of the different gas phases?

• What drives the star formation activity in galaxies, from the clump scale to the galactic scale?  

• What physical processes determine the properties of the galaxy populations as a function of environment at each cosmological epoch?

• What do gas and stellar metallicities tell us about galaxy stellar and gaseous histories?

• When, where and how is the AGN activity a key player in galaxy evolution, and what rules the BH feeding?

We foresee lively discussion/brainstorming sessions to summarize the status, challenges and prospects for these specific areas of galaxy evolution and discuss how we can make progress in the next few years.

The meeting is financed by the European Commission as part of the ERC Advanced Program GASP (grant agreement n. 833824).

We are looking forward to meeting you all in Pisa in 2024!