Secular Evolution of Galaxies

The formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the most important topics in modern astrophysics. Secular evolution refers to the relatively slow dynamical evolution due to internal processes induced by a galaxy's spiral arms, bars, galactic winds, black holes and dark matter haloes. It plays an important role in the evolution of spiral galaxies with major consequences for galactic bulges, the transfer of angular momentum, and the distribution of a galaxy's constituent stars, gas and dust. This internal evolution is in turn the key to understanding and testing cosmological models of galaxy formation and evolution. Based on the twenty-third Winter School of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, this volume presents reviews from nine world-renowned experts on the observational and theoretical research into secular processes, and what these processes can tell us about the structure and formation of galaxies. The volume provides a firm grounding for graduate students and early career researchers working on galactic dynamics and galaxy evolution.

Dr Jesús Falcón-Barroso is Head of the Research Group on 'Traces of Galaxy Formation' at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife. His main research areas include the development of stellar population models, unraveling the nature of bars and bulges, and the formation and evolution of dwarf elliptical galaxies.

Dr Johan H. Knapen is Head of the Research Division at Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife, and a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He is an observational astronomer studying the structure, dynamics and evolution of spiral galaxies.