About the project
Galaxies preserve evidence of past interactions in the motions of their gas and stars. This project uses integral-field spectroscopy and dynamical modelling to uncover those histories, exploring how mergers and gas accretion influence star formation, unusual kinematic structures, and the growth of supermassive black holes over many billions of years.
Galaxies lead dynamic lives: they interact and merge, form stars, acquire fresh gas, and grow the supermassive black holes at their centres. Although modern telescopes provide images and spectra, each observation captures only one moment in an evolutionary history spanning billions of years. The central question of this project is: how can we use that snapshot to reconstruct what happened in the past?
Galaxy interactions leave long-lasting signatures in the dynamics of gas and stars. Identifying and modelling these signatures can provide evidence of previous interactions and determine how they influenced star formation and black-hole activity. Striking examples include polar-ring galaxies, in which gas orbits perpendicular to the stellar disc, and counter-rotating galaxies, where gas and stars rotate in opposite directions.
You will combine high-quality, spatially resolved spectroscopy of a large galaxy sample with dynamical modelling to reconstruct galaxies’ evolutionary histories. The techniques will first be used on nearby galaxies before being applied to more distant systems to investigate how these processes evolved across cosmic time.
The project will address questions including:
- when and how did these galaxies acquire their unusual gas and stellar structures?
- what were the consequences for star formation and black hole growth activity?
- how do these relationships change across time?
You will gain experience in integral-field spectroscopy, stellar populations, dynamical modelling, scientific programming and statistical analysis.
You will be part of a collaborative research group at Southampton and of international teams, with opportunities for conferences and research visits.
Alongside project-specific training, you will benefit from postgraduate courses, seminars and workshops within the Astronomy Group, as well as the University’s development programme, supporting your growth as an independent scientist in preparation for careers within and beyond academia.
The School of Physics & Astronomy is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
