GRK 787:  Galaxy Groups as Laboratories for Baryonic and Dark Matter

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2002 to 2005
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 273455

The physical processes of structure formation in the Universe from Big Bang to the present time are largely unkown up to now. Mayor research topics concern the formation of the observed large variety of galaxy properties and the nature of dark matter. In this context especially galaxy groups - small, gravitationally bound aggregates of galaxies and their satellites - play a special role. Galaxy groups are, contrary to the much more massive galaxy clusters, lessevolved and dominated by individual events. This implies that the evolutionary effects like gravitational interaction and interaction with the intergroup medium can be studied in detail. Galaxy groups are also important systems for our understanding of structure formation since they sample the lower density peaks of the primoridal density distribution.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Participating Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Klaas S. de Boer (†); Professor Dr. Rolf Chini; Privatdozent Dr. Andreas Heithausen; Professorin Dr. Susanne Hüttemeister; Professor Dr. Ulrich Klein; Professor Dr. Ulrich Mebold; Professor Dr. Reinhard Schlickeiser; Professor Dr. Peter Schneider