Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Towards an unbiased view of the role of stellar mass in galaxy evolution

Objective

"The stellar mass content of galaxies is a key parameter to determine their properties and assess their evolution (e.g. via evolution of the stellar mass function [SMF] and scaling relations). However, our ability to measure stellar masses is limited by large systematic uncertainties and biases, which can reach up to factors of several for the youngest and most actively star-forming galaxies. One of the main problems is that the optical and near infrared (NIR) light that traces the stellar mass does it in a very non-linear way: the oldest stars and the most dust enshrouded ones can dominate the stellar mass although globally dimmer than the young and unobscured ones. ""SteMaGE"" is a systematic multi-wavelength effort to devise a methodology to properly weigh the stellar mass of the different components, resolved in time (via optical spectroscopy to constrain the star formation history [SFH]) and space (via spatially resolved analysis). Two state-of-the-art surveys, KINGFISH, ~65 galaxies imaged in the far IR with Herschel, and CALIFA, with spatially resolved ""integral field"" spectroscopy for ~600 galaxies, will be complemented with optical and NIR imaging. At each position in a galaxy the stellar mass density will be computed by comparing the observed optical/NIR emission with a library of models that reproduce different SFHs and dust attenuation. The far IR and spectral information will refine the prior distribution of models and reduce systematic uncertainties. These ""optimal"" stellar mass densities will be integrated and used to calibrate ""cheaper"" estimators based on fewer global optical/NIR fluxes. These can be adopted on large surveys, yielding systematic uncertainties of 10-20%. This new standard will be used to estimate the local SMF, providing a new unbiased reference for galaxy evolution models. The stellar mass maps will be used to unveil the real structure of galaxies and assess the importance of internal dynamical processes in galaxy evolution."

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator

ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI ASTROFISICA
EU contribution
€ 100 000,00
Address
VIALE DEL PARCO MELLINI 84
00136 ROMA
Italy

See on map

Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data
My booklet 0 0