There is now a broad agreement from multiple star formation tracers relating to the shape of the cosmic star formation rate density and its evolution. This shows a rise in star formation from the early Universe, with a peak in activity between redshift three and one, followed by a steep decline to the present day. A similar evolution is seen in the AGN population. The shape of this curve raises many questions about the cause of the increase and subsequent fall-off, as well as questions about the nature and properties of the galaxies contributing to this peak.
The aim of this DEX workshop, celebrating a decade of DEX meetings, is to discuss our current progress towards understanding the peak of activity in the Universe by exploiting the joint expertise of Durham and Edinburgh. For this 10th edition of DEX on the "Peak of activity in the Universe", we have extended the invitation to colleagues from the Nottingham Astronomy Group. Key questions to be addressed will include:
- What drives the shape of the cosmic star formation rate density, and black-hole accretion density?
- How do galaxies get their gas and process it into stars?
- How do internal and external factors drive star formation and AGN activity?
- What do the Milky Way and its neighbours tell us about recent and past star formation?
The workshop programme and list of abstracts are now both available in electronic form.
The workshop will take place on January 9th and 10th 2013 in room OC218 of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, located on Durham University's science site.
The workshop is planned to start on Thursday at 11.00h (with coffee from 10:30am) and will end around 16.00h on Friday.
A buffet lunch will be served in the Bransden Room on both days for all registered participants.
Registration will open in early November 2013. Any queries should be addressed to the LOC at DEX.Workshop[at]gmail.com.
There is no formal registration fee. However, the cost of the conference dinner is to be paid by the participants. We anticipate the cost to be around £30.
The DEX meeting acknowledges financial support from the XGAL astronomy group, the ERC, and the Royal Society
On the evening of Thursday 9th, we anticipate that participants of the workshop will have the opportunity to enjoy a workshop dinner at Finbarr's Restaurant, from approximately 19.30h onwards. Full details will be posted nearer the time.
Payment for the conference dinner will be collected locally for each department: Durham delegates should contact Peder, Edinburgh delegates should contact Nathalie, and Nottingham delegates should contact Omar.
We have pre-reserved 15 en-suite bedrooms at Collingwood College. We will extend this number subject to demand/availability. Participants can book rooms through Event Durham (ED) by phone or e-mail, mentioning DEX at the time of booking:
Collingwood College,
South Road, Durham DH1 3LT
Contact: Charlotte Imlach
Event Durham
Durham University
Tel: +44 (0) 191 3342886
Fax: +44 (0) 191 334 2892
Email: c.r.imlach@dur.ac.uk
Accommodation is also available at Grey College, close to Physics and Collingwood College:
Grey College
South Road, Durham DH1 3LG
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 5900
Fax: +44 (0)191 334 5901
Email: grey.college@durham.ac.uk
Alternatively, there is a range of hotels and guest houses in Durham, including:
The Victoria Inn
86 Hallgarth Street, Durham DH1 3AS
Tel: +44 (0)191 386 5269
New Elvet, Durham DH1 3AQ
Radisson Blu Hotel
Frankland Lane, Durham DH1 5TA
Tel: +44 (0)191 372 7200
Fax: +44 (0)191 372 7201
Email: reservations.durham@radissonblu.comk
Premier Inn
Freemans Place, Walkergate, Durham DH1 1SQ
Tel: +44 (0)871 527 8338
Fax: +44 (0)871 527 8339
Organising committee:
Pablo Arnalte-Mur, Philip Best, Fernando Buitrago, Michelle Furlong, Sadegh Khochfar, Peder Norberg, Manolis Rovilos, and Alasdair Thomson
Email address: Dex.Workshop[at]gmail.com