Scientific Rationale

The capabilities of astronomical observation have dramatically increased over the last few years. New and powerful telescopes have boosted our ability to detect and study the primordial Universe. The largest ground-based observatories, ranging from 8-10m class optical telescopes to radio interferometers with baselines of several kilometers, as well as many space facilities, covering the optical, X-ray and infrared domains, are now largely dedicated to explore the distant Universe, in search of the primordial sources of light and how they have shaped the surrounding environment and evolved to the present day. Large international teams have been set-up in an unprecedented effort to realize extremely deep observations at essentially all wavelengths, from the X-rays to the radio. The era of the Deep Fields has truly arrived, and now is the right time to compare results from the different teams, analysing different fields at different wavelengths, in order to form a coherent picture of galaxy formation and evolution and to identify the intriguing puzzles that will require the next generation of telescopes to be solved.

To aid in this effort, the Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon and the Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon are organising an international conference, aimed at discussing galaxy formation and evolution in the light of the deepest astronomical surveys. The focus is on the latest observational results, and how they can be interpreted using the latest theoretical framework.

Main Topics

Announcements

Contacts

For further information on this conference, please contact: