Galaxies are composed of multiple components, such as bulges, discs, bars and spiral arms amongst others. As the galaxy transforms over time, such as through interactions, mergers or simply old age, these components are also affected. This project aims to use a unique code to model the light profiles of galaxy bulges and discs in Integral Field Spectroscopic data in order to cleanly extract the spectra of those components with minimal contamination from the light of other structures present. From these spectra we can study their stellar populations, star formation histories, and mass assembly histories as a function of time, thus building up a picture of not just how the galaxy has evolved and transformed into what we see today, but also what has happened to its components.
Type of project: Research – actively recruiting new young researchers
Status: Ongoing
Researchers: Evelyn Johnston, Keerthana Jegatheesan
Funding source: Basal CATA2