High redshift ULIRGs and the formation of massive galaxies


Scott Chapman


Dalhousie University



Studying ultraluminous galaxies (ULIRGs) at early times (z>2) provides insight into the formative phases of massive galaxies around us today. While the field has now become a relatively mature science, there remain various aspects that are still mired in uncertainty, and new facilities offer possibilities for great leaps forward in our understanding. I will provide an overview of this exciting field, and present new avenues of research into high-redshift ULIRGs which are significantly pushing our understanding of the population. These include Herschel-HerMES, the South Pole Telescope (SPT), our recently completed IRAM-PdBI survey of CO gas in 50 high-z SMGs (Bothwell,Chapman,Smail et al. 2011), and the CDFS-LESS survey with the 870um camera, LABOCA, and its followup studies.

Date: Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Time: 16:00
Where: McGill University
  Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103)
Contact: Robert Rutledge