How do galaxies get their gas?

Objective

"Observing the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time is one of the key priorities for the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the next-generation radio telescope that will be built in South Africa and Australia over the next decade. Its large size and extreme sensitivity mean it will have a huge impact on astrophysics. In the run-up to the SKA, several SKA-precursor telescopes are starting to probe SKA science already. We describe a project covering an important aspect of one of the SKA science questions, namely to establish where the gas in galaxies comes from. Galaxies seem to form stars at a rate that makes it impossible to sustain their current gas reservoirs over the lifetime of the universe. They must therefore continuously acquire pristine gas from somewhere. Theory predicts the existence of a ""cosmic web"" of gas and dark matter surrounding the galaxies which provides this new fuel. With ultra-sensitive observations it will be possible to directly observe this ""accretion"" of gas. Using the Dutch APERTIF, the Australian ASKAP and the South African MeerKAT SKA precursor telescopes (this project has already been allocated 8 months of observing time on the latter), we will directly observe the presence and establish the importance of accretion. The outcome will have a significant impact on our current models for galaxy evolution, and will guide future SKA work. This project also fulfills the recent call of the European Parliament for greater collaboration with Africa in the field of radio astronomy (Written Declaration 45/2011)."

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.

• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy radio astronomy
• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics dark matter
• engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology galaxy evolution

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG - Marie-Curie Action: "Career Integration Grants"

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