Welcome to the Galaxy Formation Group
Galaxy formation is one of the most important areas of research in cosmology,
and our group is very active in this field. We study galaxy formation
using a variety of theoretical and observational techniques, ranging from
direct numerical simulations over semi-analytic models of galaxy formation
to detailed analysis of large observational surveys. We are also actively
participating in a number of large international collaborations that focus
on the physics of galaxy formation. Click on the links below to reach
individual project pages:
Numerical Simulations
 VIRGO: Cosmological
N-Body Simulations
The VIRGO Consortium is an international grouping of scientists carrying
out supercomputer simulations of the formation of galaxies, galaxy clusters,
large-scale structure, and of the evolution of the intergalactic medium.
Projects of VIRGO include:
-The Millennium Simulation Project
-The Hubble Volume Project
-High-resolution dark matter simulations
-Hydrodynamic simulations of structure formation
-Cluster and galaxy resimulation
-Topology of the Universe
-Large scale motions of superclusters and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
-Ray-tracing simulations of gravitational lensing
-Simulations including Gas
( many pages include data download tables)
Data Visualization
This page offers a selection of data visualization products from our
numerical simulations, including images and digital movies. (image and movie files)
GADGET: Galaxies with
Dark matter and Gas intEracT
GADGET is a freely available code for cosmological N-body/SPH simulations
on serial workstations, or on massively parallel computers with distributed
memory. The parallel version of GADGET uses an explicit communication
model that is implemented with the standardized MPI communication interface...
(includes data download table)
Grape MSPH
We use the cosmological MHD code [described in Dolag et al.(1999) and
Dolag et al (2002)] to simulate the formation of magnetized galaxy clusters
from an initial density perturbation field. The code combines the merely
gravitational interaction of a dark-matter component with the hydrodynamics
of a gaseous component...
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Semi-Analytic Galaxy Formation
Millennium Simulation
The Millennium Simulation is the largest cosmological N-body
simulation ever carried out and has been used to construct
sophisticated semi-analytic models of galaxy information that cover the
complete galaxy population in a representative piece of
the Universe down to luminosities substantially below L*.
(includes data download table)
Simple and fast galaxy formation model
This approach is using the complex structure of merger-trees from
the Millennium simulation, combined with simple schematic recipes
for the formation and evolution of galaxies. The model produces galaxies
which fit various observational constraints.
GIF
Scientists involved in the GIF project combined the large high-resolution
N-body simulations with semi-analytical models to study formation and
evolution of galaxies.
(includes data download table)
Constrained Realization
of the Local Universe
These models simulate the formation and evolution of the neighbouring
galaxy population starting from initial conditions with a smoothed linear
density field which matches that derived from the IRAS 1.2 Jy galaxy
survey.
(includes data download table, images)
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Large Surveys
EDISCS: ESO Distant
Clusters Survey
EDISCS aims at studying the evolution of cluster populations over more
than 50% of cosmic time by comparing the photometric and spectroscopic
properties of galaxies in rich clusters at z~0.5 and z>0.8 with those
of galaxies in well-studied nearby clusters.
SDSS:
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is the most ambitious astronomical survey
project ever undertaken. The survey will map in detail one-quarter of
the entire sky, determining the positions and absolute brightness of
more than 100 million celestial objects. SDSS is a joint project of
many international institutions including the MPA.
Collaborative Networks
European Network (Intergalactic Medium)
The Intergalactic Medium is the repository of the dominant component
of ordinary matter in the Universe. This network seeks a unified description
of the large-scale distribution, thermal and ionization state, chemical
composition, and evolution of the IGM...
European
Network (Galaxy Formation)
It has recently become possible to identify galaxies so distant that
they are seen when only a fraction as old as nearby systems. The evolution
of the universe can be studied directly through observation of such
galaxies, and this has been a major motivation for the new generation
of large ground-based telescopes as well as for satellite observatories
like the Hubble Space Telescope and ISO...
Comments to:  volker@mpa-garching.mpg.de
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