ERC Starting Grant · 2022
Tracking galaxy evolution with precise and accurate metal abundances in the interstellar medium
The introduction of heavy elements (metals) into the interstellar medium (ISM) via stellar feedback processes is crucial for the regulation of star formation and thus galaxy evolution. Metals set the heating and cooling balance in star-forming regions, and establish the carbon chemistry that is necessary for life on our planet. The gas-phase metal abundance (metallicity) is the most accessible measure of the build-up of chemical enrichment over cosmic time. However, there are large systematic uncertainties in our metallicity measurements, to the extent that we do not know if most galaxies are metal-rich or metal-poor compared to the Milky Way. These long-standing uncertainties plague our…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.