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
Jetha N
(2007)
Erratum: Active galactic nuclei heating in the centres of galaxy groups: a statistical study
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott B
(2009)
Erratum: All-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in LIGO S4 data [Phys. Rev. D 77 , 022001 (2008)]
in Physical Review D
Willems B
(2008)
Erratum: Probing White Dwarf Interiors with LISA: Periastron Precession In Eccentric Double White Dwarfs [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 , 041102 (2008)]
in Physical Review Letters
Muno M
(2007)
Exciting the magnetosphere of the magnetar CXOU J164710.2-455216 in Westerlund 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Fulda P
(2010)
Experimental demonstration of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss mode interferometry
in Physical Review D
Abbott B
(2007)
First cross-correlation analysis of interferometric and resonant-bar gravitational-wave data for stochastic backgrounds
in Physical Review D
Zemcov M
(2010)
First detection of the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect increment at ? < 650 ยต m
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Abbott B
(2008)
First joint search for gravitational-wave bursts in LIGO and GEO 600 data
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Abbott B
(2009)
First LIGO search for gravitational wave bursts from cosmic (super)strings
in Physical Review D