Please forward this message to potentially interested colleagues. We apologize if you are receiving this circular more than once. ------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE REMEMBER : DEADLINE FOR PRE-REGISTRATION : 1st JUNE ------------------------------------------------------------ =========================================================== INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DISKS OF GALAXIES: KINEMATICS, DYNAMICS AND PERTURBATIONS Puebla --- Mexico, November 5-9, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------- hosted by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica ************************************************************ * * * FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT * * * ************************************************************ Dear Colleague: An international conference on "Disks of Galaxies" will take place in Puebla, Mexico, November 5-9, 2001. The purpose of this First Announcement is to bring the meeting to the attention of astronomers, and to solicit expressions of interest in attending. This First Announcement contains the preliminary registration form, and some relevant information. SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE Disks are probably the flattest subsystems of galaxies, and their formation and evolution pose interesting problems. How do they form, evolve and decouple from the other galaxy subsystems, such as the halo and the bulge, in the process of building a galaxy? Today there are numerous indications of the dynamical evolution of disk galaxies, through various secular or episodic processes, such as bar formation and destruction, bulge growth and mergers, sometimes over periods much shorter than the standard galaxy age of 10-15 Gyrs. Disks develop many sub-structures, either internally, both spontaneously via instabilities and due to the interplay with other components of the same galaxy, or externally, by interactions with other galaxies. In the latter case the fragility of the disk structure poses already interesting constraints on the amount of interaction which can be tolerated. The sub-structures include bars, spirals, rings and warps, each presenting interesting dynamical problems on their own. Disks extend from the most central to the relatively outer parts of each galaxy, permitting the study of the kinematics and dynamics of the major part of a spiral galaxy using a variety of tracers. Since disks are quite responsive they allow us to probe the different environments in which they reside, from the black hole in their innermost parts, to the halo that surrounds them. The importance of the HI layer to test dark matter is well established, and the connection of the HI and H_2 with the stellar disk yields clues about the history of star formation in disks. Resonances play a crucial role in the dynamics of disks and it is thus important to locate the main resonant regions. For this, many photometrical and spectroscopical methods have been proposed so far to detect them, but none of them can be applied easily in a systematic way to large samples of galaxies. Hence we still have not reached a global picture concerning their importance. Star formation is occurring actively in the disk of galaxies. The presence of fresh gas and dust allows new stars to form, sometimes in an organized way due to the response to density wave perturbations in the old disk population. This process can at present be studied with IR-imaging facilities as well as in the classical optical bands. TOPICS -- Formation of galactic disks -- Dynamical evolution of galactic disks -- Evolution along the Hubble Sequence -- Disk + halo and disk + bulge connection -- Substructure in galactic disks -- Morphology of disks at different wavelengths -- Thin and thick disks -- Counter-rotating disks -- Bars, spirals, rings and warps -- Interactions and mergings -- Cannibalism and mean-life time of small companions -- Local vs global star formation activity -- Stability and chaos in galactic disks -- Grand-design vs flocculent spirals -- Resonances in general --------------------- Invited Review papers --------------------- E. Athanassoula : Secular evolution in barred galaxies. Theory A. Bosma : HI and dark matter in spiral galaxies M. Bureau : Structure, kinematics and dynamics of bulges W. Dehnen : Our Galaxy H. Dottori : The disc of the LMC and its perturbations J. Franco : Magnetic fields and spiral structure K.C. Freeman : Optical structure of discs R. Ibata : Minor mergers in disc galaxies K. Kuijken : Warps M. Merrifield : Secular evolution in barred galaxies. Observations M. Regan : Gas Kinematics in Barred and Spiral Galaxies H.W. Rix : TBC J. Sellwood : Recurring, transient spiral patterns and scattering I. Shlosman : Dynamical Evolution of Central Kpc in Disk Galaxies L. Sparke : Off-Plane Gas and Galaxy Discs P. Teuben : Velocity fields. Their derivation and the influence of bars, ovals and warps. ------------------------------- SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ------------------------------- E. Athanassoula (Chair) Observatoire de Marseille, France J. Binney Dept Physics, Oxford, UK A. Bosma Observatoire de Marseille, France H. Dottori Dept de Astronomia, IF-UFGRS, Brazil J. Franco IA-UNAM, Mexico K.C. Freeman Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australia M. Merrifield University of Nottingham, UK M. Regan Space Telescope Science Institute J. Sellwood Rutgers University, USA I. Shlosman University of Kentucky, USA L. Sparke University of Wisconsin, USA P. Teuben University of Maryland, USA -------------------------- LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE -------------------------- M. Chavez INAOE J.A. Garcia-Barreto IA-UNAM D. Mayya INAOE R. Mujica INAOE I. Puerari (Chair) INAOE E. Recillas INAOE S. del Rio INAOE D. Rosa INAOE M. Valdez-Gutierrez INAOE \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ CONTACT ADDRESS E-mail: disks01@inaoep.mx WEB: http://www.inaoep.mx/~disks01/ghconf.html FAX: +52 2 247 22 31 Secretary: secregh@inaoep.mx /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ------------------------------------------------------------ CUT HERE --- CUT HERE --- CUT HERE --- CUT HERE --- CUT HERE SEND THE PRELIMINARY REGISTRATION FORM TO disks01@inaoep.mx ************************************************************ PRELIMINARY REGISTRATION FORM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DISKS OF GALAXIES: KINEMATICS, DYNAMICS AND PERTURBATIONS Puebla --- Mexico, November 5-9, 2001 ------------------------- DEADLINE 1st JUNE ------------------------- ************************************************************ Full Name (family name, first name, middle name): Affiliation (Academy/University, Institute, Department): Mailing Address (apt/street/city/zip code/country): TEL: FAX: E-MAIL: ------------------------------------------------------------ Preliminary title of the proposed paper: ( ) Oral contribution ( ) Poster contribution (please note that we may have to assign your paper to the poster presentation) ------------------------------------------------------------ Number of Accompanying persons: ------------------------------------------------------------