75 years anniversary of IAP Conference, Paris, France, 2013

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Welcome!

75 years anniversary of IAP Conference :

The origin of the Hubble sequence

will take place at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
in Paris, France 24-28 June 2013.

The main purpose of our conference is to trigger cross discussions between observers and theorists on our current understanding on the origin and evolution of the Hubble sequence (galaxy morphology), with an emphasis on the respective role of cosmic environment versus feedback.

Key dates

Registration & Abstracts open:
15th November
Abstract submission:
15th March
Early registration closes:
15th April
Late registration closes
15th May
Payment closes:
15th May
Conference:
24-28 June

Scientific Rationale

Observational information on the morphology of galaxies and its dependence on environment is routinely becoming available for galaxies up to redshift two and beyond, and matched samples at low and high redshift allow the study of the evolution of many physical properties of galaxies for most of the history of our Universe in unprecedented detail. Galaxies appear quite different at high redshifts, clumpy and perturbed, with thick disks, and quite far from the current Hubble sequence.

At the same time, thanks to a well established paradigm of cosmological structure formation, many of the boundary conditions for galaxy formation are now fixed. Modern simulations based on this paradigm have established a tight connection between the geometry and dynamics of the large scale structure of matter on the one hand, and the evolution of the physical properties of forming galaxies on the other.
Key questions formulated many decades ago are nevertheless not satisfactorily answered. What are the main drivers determining the morphology of galaxies which are responsible for establishing the Hubble sequence. When did this happen? To what extent should numerical simulations be trusted to help answering these questions?

The purpose of this conference is to take stock of recent progress of both observation and simulations in order to understand the origin and evolution of the Hubble sequence within an increasingly well defined cosmological paradigm for galaxy formation.
The discussion at the conference will focus on the interaction of galaxies with their environment and on the influence of the cosmic web and large scale structure dynamics. Some of the discussion will be dedicated to an critical assessment of the role of cold flows, merger/interaction history, star formation history and stellar feedback, secular evolution due to internal perturbations driven by instabilities, and nuclear activity and AGN feedback. The conference thereby aims at helping to disentangle the relative effect of all these interconnected influences on galaxy morphology which will be crucial for a proper understanding of the origin of the Hubble sequence.