Galaxy Evolution and Dynamical Structures (GEDS)-II

In the paradigm of hierarchical structure formation, galaxies, including our home galaxy, the Milky Way, grow through mergers and the accretion of cold gas. These external processes not only build up mass but also drive the galaxies into a clumpy phase, where inward clump migration contributes to rapid buildup of central components. As these galaxies settle into equilibrium configuration, internal gravitational instabilities are excited, leading to the formation of non-axisymmetric structures such as spiral arms, bars, warps, and lopsidedness. These non-axisymmetric structures subsequently take charge and collectively shape the long-term (secular) evolution via the exchange of energy and angular momentum. Understanding mass assembly, dynamical evolution, and the growth of multiple structural components (e.g., disk and bulge) is therefore crucial for a comprehensive picture of galaxy evolution across cosmic time.

The ongoing space-based Gaia mission, along with ground-based surveys such as APOGEE, LAMOST, and RAVE, has provided an unprecedented and holistic view of the Milky Way. Beyond the Milky Way, facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Euclid, VLT/MUSE, SDSS/MaNGA are delivering key insights into the disk structure, kinematics, and chemical abundances across the local and distant Universe. Together, these surveys provide access to galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic evolution history, offering an unprecedented dataset to tackle long-standing problems and address fundamental questions about galaxy evolution and dynamics. This meeting aims to advance our understanding of the dynamical evolution of galaxies, including the roles of internal processes and external mechanisms from both theoretical and observational perspectives.

Some of the key issues that will be addressed in this meeting include: