CATHEDRALS

Questions like “How do galaxies grow?” and “How do they die?” are not only fundamental but capture many of the most important problems in galaxy formation. We seek comprehen- sive answers that address the nature of physical mechanisms that drive initial formation, mass assembly and size growth, and the eventual “death” of star formation via quenching. These mechanisms play out spectacularly in massive galaxies. Those centrally peaked and luminous “stellar cathedrals,” seated in the heart of enormous dark matter halos, provide unique insight into these fundamental questions. The cathedrals program will address these questions by combining observations from several exciting new facilities, including the prominent international MaNGA Survey (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO), an integral field spectroscopic survey of 10,000 nearby galaxies now entering its second year and of which I am the Principal Investigator. Motivating new modeling techniques, the late stages of evolution (z < 1) will be charted with unprecedented statistical precision thanks to the emerging era of wide-field surveys like MaNGA and Hyper Suprime Cam at Subaru Observatory, a precursor of EUCLID. We will study the origin of present-day trends with targeted followup of the most distant galaxies from more powerful facilities, such as MUSE on the VLT and eventually JWST and E-ELT. With a 4-year appointment at Le Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), I will bring my expertise in wide-field survey design and “big data” science to the French community, which is investing heavily in these areas (e.g., EUCLID and 4MOST) but has only limited access to current programs of this nature. The MaNGA survey, specifically, not only offers valuable lessons in fiber technologies and survey execution, but immediate scientific synergies with MUSE GTO science being led at CRAL. The combination of MaNGA and MUSE enables exciting exploitations of JWST and will guide development of E-ELT HARMONI, both future instruments that CRAL is playing a role in defining. Finally, by combining scientific drivers, survey experience, and the instrumentation expertise at CRAL, new project ideas on future facilities will be developed.