New Hot Paper Comment by Darren S. Madgwick

Darren S. Madgwick answers a few questions about this month's new hot paper in the field of Space Science.

From •>>September 2003

Field: Space Science
Article Title: "The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: galaxy luminosity functions per spectral type"
Authors: Madgwick, DS;Lahav, O;Baldry, IK;Baugh, CM;Bland-Hawthorn, J;Bridges, T;Cannon, R;Cole, S;Colless, M;Collins, C;Couch, W;Dalton, G;De Propris, R;Driver, SP;Efstathiou, G;Ellis, RS;Frenk, CS;Glazebrook, K;Jackson, C;Lewis, I;Lumsden, S;Maddox, S;Norberg, P;Peacock, JA;Peterson, BA;Sutherland, W;Taylor, K
Journal: MON NOTIC ROY ASTRON SOC
Volume: 333
Page: 133-144
Year: JUN 2002
* Univ Cambridge, Inst Astron, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0HA, England.
* Univ Cambridge, Inst Astron, Cambridge CB3 0HA, England.
* Johns Hopkins Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA.
* Univ Durham, Dept Phys, Durham DH1 3LE, England.
* Anglo Australian Observ, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia.
* Australian Natl Univ, Res Sch Astron & Astrophys, Weston, ACT 2611, Australia.
* Liverpool John Moores Univ, Astrophys Res Inst, Birkenhead L14 1LD, Merseyside, England.
* Univ New S Wales, Dept Astrophys, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
* Univ Oxford, Dept Phys, Oxford OX1 3RH, England.
* Sch Phys & Astron, St Andrews KY6 9SS, Fife, Scotland.
* CALTECH, Dept Astron, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA.
* Univ Leeds, Dept Phys, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire, England.
* Univ Nottingham, Sch Phys & Astron, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England.
* Univ Edinburgh, Inst Astron, Royal Observ, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, Midlothian, Scotland.

Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

Galaxies are one of the most important tracers astronomers have of the
"large-scale" structure in the Universe - well beyond the bounds of our
own Milky Way.

This paper presented a fundamental result from a ground-breaking new data-set. The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey is now the largest survey of the galaxies in our Universe ever completed, and as such results derived from this data-set are particularly interesting to the wider astronomical community. This particular paper presented a new way of defining the "type" of a galaxy, as well as presenting a detailed analysis of the relative frequency of each of these types of galaxies in the present Universe ( as encapsulated in their "luminosity function"). This is a very fundamental constraint on many models of galaxy formation and evolution, and has proved particularly useful to several researchers in this field.

Does it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that's useful to others?

This paper presented a new observational result, having measured the luminosity function of different types of galaxies more accurately than ever before. In particular it provides increased accuracy of detail that will never be significantly improved upon, in the measurement of this fundamental quantity.

Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

Galaxies are one of the most important tracers astronomers have of the "large-scale" structure in the Universe—well beyond the bounds of our own Milky Way. Detailed modelling of the relative numbers and spatial distribution of galaxies allows us to test many of our most fundamental models for the formation of galaxies and the evolution of the Universe as a whole. This paper is significant in that it has not only defined a new way of specifying the "type" of a galaxy, but has also quantified very precisely the exact numbers and brightness’s of different types of galaxies in the present Universe.

How did you become involved in this research?

As part of my Ph.D. I joined the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey Team, and became very involved in this project. The research presented in this paper formed the core of my Ph.D. thesis.

Dr. Darren S. Madgwick
Hubble Fellow
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, California, USA

ESI Special Topics, September 2003
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/2003/september-03-DarrenSMadgwick.html