Quo Vadis Galaxy Evolution?

Galaxy formation is a complex phenomenon, as cosmological gravitational collapse is shaped by the energetic effects of stars, black holes, and supernovae. The pace of progress in this research area has increased immensely. The last decade, in particular, has witnessed some astonishing advances. Much of this progress can be attributed to instrumentation, telescopes, space observatories and computer power having improved rapidly.

Over the last two years, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided access to galaxies at very early cosmic epoch and by probing galaxy properties at much improved sensitivity. The promise for the future is even brighter with the next generation of ELTs, LSST, Euclid, Roman, SKA and ngVLA on the horizon. 

But interpreting these rich data sets provided by JWST requires careful modeling and comparison with theoretical expectations and much increased interdisciplinary efforts. Our workshop aims to bridge the gap between observational challenges and theoretical models in galaxy evolution. We will bring together astrophysicists with interest in galaxy evolution from a variety of backgrounds, including observations, data science and cosmological simulations to encourage knowledge sharing and collaborative interdisciplinary efforts. This conference will also provide invited overview talks of some of the new osbervational facilities coming online within the next 5 years with the aim to promote new science projects and collaborations. 

We will review the following main facilities and topics in terms of their treatment in simulations and observations, and discuss the path forward for the next decade. These include:

• The baryon cycle: star formation, stellar feedback, metal enrichment.

• The role of gas and dust across cosmic time, dust formation and evolution.

• The role of AGN / quasars in galaxy evolution: positive / negative feedback, black hole/galaxy co-evolution.

• Addressing these science topics in zoom-in and cosmological simulations. 

• Addressing these science topics with (but not limited to): ELTs, Euclid, ngVLA, SKA, Roman, JWST, VLTI, LISA and the Rubin Observatory (LSST).

This conference will serve as a platform for researchers to exchange ideas, present their latest findings, and chart the future course of extragalactic astronomy. 

We are grateful for the support through the Klaus-Georg und Sigrid Hengstberger-Preis, the Daimler und Benz Stiftung, and the MERAC foundation.