We examine the local stability of galactic discs against axisymmetric density perturbations with special attention to the different dynamics of the stellar and gaseous components. In particular the discs of the Milky Way and of NGC 6946 are studied. The Milky Way is shown to be stable, whereas the inner parts of NGC 6946, a typical Sc galaxy from the Kennicutt (1989) sample, are dynamically uns...

We use a cosmological galactic evolutionary approach to model the Milky Way. A detailed treatment of the mass aggregation and dynamical history of the growing dark halo is included, together with a self consistent physical treatment for the star formation processes within the growing galactic disc. This allows us to calculate the temporal evolution of star and gas surface densities at all galac...

We report the negative results from a search for 6.7 GHz methanol masers in the nearby spiral galaxy M33. We observed 14 GMCs in the central 4 kpc of the Galaxy, and found 3σ upper limits to the flux density of ∼9 mJy in spectral channels having a velocity width of 0.069 kms. By velocity shifting and combining the spectra from the positions observed, we obtain an effective 3σ upper limit on the...

We use a series of high-resolution N-body simulations of a ‘Milky-Way’ halo, coupled to semi-analytic techniques, to study the formation of our own Galaxy and of its stellar halo. Our model Milky Way galaxy is a relatively young system whose physical properties are in quite good agreement with observational determinations. In our model, the stellar halo is mainly formed from a few massive satel...

Current microlensing searches calibrate the mass fraction of the Milky Way halo which is in the form of Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs). We show that surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) can probe the same quantity in halos of distant galaxies. Microlensing of background quasars by MACHOs in intervening galaxies would distort the equivalent width distribution of the quasar emi...

We present an analysis of star formation and feedback recipes appropriate for galactic smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Using an isolated Milky Way-like galaxy, we constrain these recipes based on well-established observational results. Our star formation recipe is based on that of Katz (1992) with the additional inclusion of physically motivated supernova feedback recipes. We propo...

In this series of lectures I discuss the basic principles and the modelling of the chemical evolution of galaxies. In particular, I present models for the chemical evolution of the Milky Way galaxy and compare them with the available observational data. From this comparison one can infer important constraints on the mechanism of formation of the Milky Way as well as on stellar nucleosynthesis a...

We place constraints on the dynamics of the Local Group (LG) by comparing the dipole of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with the peculiar velocity induced by the 2MRS galaxy sample. The analysis is limited by the lack of surveyed galaxies behind the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA). We therefore allow for a component of the LG velocity due to unknown mass concentrations behind the ZoA, as well as ...

We present a review of recent studies of the formation and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, in particular based on large samples of non-kinematically selected stars with available proper motions. The Milky Way is argued to be a reasonable template for the formation of large spiral galaxies, the only one in which complete kinematical and abundance information can be readily obtained. Ongoing a...

HI observations in the 21cm line have been a principal tool for investigating the large-scale structure of the Milky Way. This review considers what was learned in the first decade after the discovery of the 21cm line, and how that knowledge has been expanded and refined in subsequent years. Topics include spiral structure, the Galactic nucleus, the thickness of the HI layer, and affairs in the...