The DARK project (2023–2027) is an ANR-funded project led by Nicolas Bouché (CRAL). It is dedicated to the analysis of dark matter within distant galaxies. The project aims to place strong constraints on dark matter profiles by using innovative techniques for 3D modeling of spiral galaxies based on MUSE data; and (ii) radiative-hydrodynamic simulations of disk galaxies.

The 3DGasFlows project (2017–2023) is an ANR-funded project led by Nicolas Bouché (CRAL). It is dedicated to analyzing the inflow and outflow of gas from galaxies and through the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The project aims to place constraints on both the accretion and ejection of matter by galaxies by developing (i) innovative observations that exploit the unconventional technique of background quasars, using data from MUSE, ALMA, NOEMA, and HST; and (ii) state-of-the-art radiative-hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation.

The CALENDS (Clusters And LENsing Distant Sources) project is funded by an ERC Starting Grant and coordinated by Johan Richard (CRAL). This project is dedicated to the analysis of observational data in lensing cluster fields. The CALENDS team analyzes large multi-wavelength datasets, obtained or planned for lensing clusters and distant lensed galaxies using multiple observatories (HST, Spitzer, Herschel, MUSE/ESO-VLT, KMOS/ESO-VLT, ALMA). The goal is to study the physical properties of these galaxies (both resolved and unresolved properties) in comparison to larger samples observed in empty fields.

The MUSICOS project is funded by an ERC Advanced Grant and coordinated by Roland Bacon (CRAL). It is dedicated to visualizing the deep reaches of the universe and observing intergalactic and circumgalactic gases using MUSE/VLT-ESO, an instrument designed and built by a European consortium led by CRAL, with Roland Bacon as the principal investigator.

The POPSYCLE project (2019–2023), funded by the ANR, is led at CRAL by Philippe Prugniel. Its goal is to develop the next generation of stellar population models, which are necessary for analyzing data from EUCLID and the JWST. The precision of spectroscopic and photometric data on galaxies (and star clusters) has improved so much that the models currently used to determine galaxy masses, as well as the history of their chemical evolution and star formation, are no longer sufficient. This project will identify certain stellar physical processes to incorporate them into the new population models.

These models themselves use the “X-Shooter Stellar Library” (XSL), the development of which is a major focus of the team’s work. This “library” of stellar spectra uses observations obtained with ESO’s VLT; it represents a turning point in the history of population modeling because (i) it provides consistent spectral coverage from the optical UV to the near-infrared, and (ii) its spectral resolution is suited to the instruments that will be used in the coming decade. Current developments focus on combining XSL with synthetic spectra of stellar atmospheres, in order to represent both the first galaxies (distant universe) and those of the local universe.