Birmingham Astrophysics - Rolling Grant 2007-2012
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The work of the Birmingham Astrophysics & Space Research group aims to improve our understanding of the Universe, and the force of gravity which governs its structure and growth. Our extragalactic studies aim to discover the way in which galaxies, such as our own Milky Way galaxy, have developed from the small fluctuations present in the primordial gas which filled the Universe after the Big Bang, as well as probing the mysterious 'dark matter' which appears to account for over 90% of the matter in the Universe at large. Our knowledge of the cosmos to date is gleaned almost entirely from study of the electromagnetic radiation (from radio waves to gamma rays) which reaches the Earth from space. However, a whole new astronomical 'window' is about to open, based on the propagating ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. Detection of these signals is hugely demanding, but large laser-interferometers are now very close to detecting them for the first time, and the Birmingham group is fully involved in these experiments, and in the plans to move these techniques into space within the next decade. This will ultimately allow us to study the gravitational signals from giant black holes, and from the Big Bang itself. We are working towards the first detection of gravitational waves, but also exploring the new techniques which will be required to turn the study of gravitational waves into a true branch of astronomy.
Organisations
Publications
Goss K
(2011)
Variations of the amplitudes of oscillation of the Be star Achernar Variations in the oscillations of Achernar
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pribulla T
(2011)
The nearby eclipsing stellar system d Velorum II. First reliable orbit for the eclipsing pair???
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Abadie J
(2010)
Calibration of the LIGO gravitational wave detectors in the fifth science run
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Abadie J
(2010)
FIRST SEARCH FOR GRAVITATIONAL WAVES FROM THE YOUNGEST KNOWN NEUTRON STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Adami C
(2010)
The XMM-LSS survey: optical assessment and properties of different X-ray selected cluster classes
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rasmussen J
(2010)
WITNESSING THE FORMATION OF A BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXY IN A NEARBY X-RAY CLUSTER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rex M
(2010)
The far-infrared/submillimeter properties of galaxies located behind the Bullet cluster
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Sanderson A
(2010)
X-ray modelling of galaxy cluster gas and mass profiles Modelling cluster gas and mass profiles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gitti M
(2010)
CAVITIES AND SHOCKS IN THE GALAXY GROUP HCG 62 AS REVEALED BY CHANDRA , XMM-NEWTON , AND GIANT METREWAVE RADIO TELESCOPE DATA
in The Astrophysical Journal
Accadia T
(2010)
Commissioning status of the Virgo interferometer
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Egami E
(2010)
The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS): Overview
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
McCarthy I
(2010)
The case for AGN feedback in galaxy groups AGN feedback in galaxy groups
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sesana A
(2010)
Measuring the parameters of massive black hole binary systems with pulsar timing array observations of gravitational waves
in Physical Review D
Pereira M
(2010)
LoCuSS: A Herschel view of obscured star formation in Abell 1835
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
O'Sullivan E
(2010)
A deep Chandra observation of the poor cluster AWM 4 - I. Properties of the central radio galaxy and its effects on the intracluster medium A deep Chandra observation of AWM 4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bedding T
(2010)
SOLAR-LIKE OSCILLATIONS IN LOW-LUMINOSITY RED GIANTS: FIRST RESULTS FROM KEPLER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hild S
(2010)
A xylophone configuration for a third-generation gravitational wave detector
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Smith G
(2010)
LoCuSS: Probing galaxy transformation physics with Herschel
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Abadie J
(2010)
Predictions for the rates of compact binary coalescences observable by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Okabe N
(2010)
LoCuSS: CALIBRATING MASS-OBSERVABLE SCALING RELATIONS FOR CLUSTER COSMOLOGY WITH SUBARU WEAK-LENSING OBSERVATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zhang Y
(2010)
LoCuSS: A COMPARISON OF CLUSTER MASS MEASUREMENTS FROM XMM-NEWTON AND SUBARU-TESTING DEVIATION FROM HYDROSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM AND NON-THERMAL PRESSURE SUPPORT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Abadie J
(2010)
Search for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence in LIGO and Virgo data from S5 and VSR1
in Physical Review D
Mahajan S
(2010)
Star formation, starbursts and quenching across the Coma supercluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stello D
(2010)
DETECTION OF SOLAR-LIKE OSCILLATIONS FROM KEPLER PHOTOMETRY OF THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 6819
in The Astrophysical Journal
Accadia T
(2010)
Noise from scattered light in Virgo's second science run data
in Classical and Quantum Gravity