Letters of Intent received in 2021

LoI 2023-2148
Title: Piecing toghether the Milky Way: towards a holistic view on our Galaxy

Topics

Galactic dynamics, Galactic Archaeology, Near-Field Cosmology, Galactic chemical evolution, asteroseismology, star formation, galaxy formation and evolution, numerical simulations of galaxy formation, dark matter, first stars

Rationale

Large surveys such as the ESA Gaia mission have toppled one of the central pillars of Galactic Dynamics, namely that the Galaxy is in equilibrium. The old framework of a quiescent Milky Way composed of separate and disconnected entities (disc, bulge & halo) is now shattered making room for a new emerging picture in which the Galaxy is shaped by time-dependent phenomena and accretion events. More than ever, a holistic approach in studying the Milky Way is necessary if we are to build a framework taking into account the information locked in time-dependent phenomena to piece together the formation of the Galaxy. Such an enterprise will require combined studies of its dynamics, chemistry and star formation. The time is ripe for a symposium given the imminent avalanche of new data from Gaia DR3, spectroscopic surveys (DESI, SDSS-V, WEAVE, PFS) and LSST. In this context, this meeting will bring together experts on all aspects of Galactic Archaeology (dynamics, chemical evolution, stellar evolution and asteroseismology) from observations, to modelling and state-of-the-art numerical simulations to discuss recent advances in Near-Field Cosmology. This symposium will serve as a forum to exchange new ideas on the Milky Way with the overarching goal of fostering new collaborations to advance studies of the formation of the Galaxy. We will additionally explore dark matter from the virial radius down to the solar vicinity as well as small-scale challenges to LCDM. The symposium will be followed by a full-week workshop to facilitate collaborations on projects stemming from discussions the preceding week.