Astronomy Research at Queen Mary
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Astronomy Unit
Abstract
We propose to undertake the following research projects.
i) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the gas discs that orbit young stars,
which are believed to be the sites of planet formation.
The aim is to examine the behaviour of the gas as it orbits around the star, and to
examine how planets that form in these discs interact with them. This interaction
may explain the fact that many of the extrasolar planets that have been discovered
outside of our solar system orbit close to their host stars.
ii) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the atmospheres of extrasolar
planets. These atmospheres display interesting patterns of gas flow, and extrasolar planets
often orbit close to their stars and so are strongly heated on one side, causing strong winds
to arise. The simulations will help us better understand these atmospheres.
iii) Using mathematical representations of the laws of physics, we will produce new models
for the early evolution of the Universe, shortly after the big-bang, during which time it
underwent very rapid expansion known as "inflation". The models will be compared with
observations of the Universe to see which ones are compatible with the data.
iv) We will use Einstein's theory of gravity to make detailed predictions about the distribution
of matter in the Universe, and how this matter distribution appears to an observer on Earth.
These predictions will be compared with observational data to test Einstein's gravity on the
largest scales.
v) We will use the access that we have to the next generation of infrared spectrographs to
look for low mass planets around nearby low mass stars, using measurements of the star's
radial velocity as it orbits around the system centre of mass. Low mass stars are the optimal
targets for finding low mass planets in their habitable zone, so this may be an efficient method
of finding the first habitable earth-like planets. We will also use these spectrographs to look
for the signatures of molecules in planet atmospheres.
vi) We will use an observational survey of the Universe being undertaken by the VISTA
telescope to search for very distant quasars - galaxies that have supermassive black holes
at their centres, and which were born when the Universe was less than 10% of its
current age. We have already discovered the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most distant quasars that
are known, and the aim is to increase this number to about 10. We will then be able
to estimate of how many quasars there were when the Universe was very young,
and we will be able to examine the black holes and the structures of their galaxies.
i) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the gas discs that orbit young stars,
which are believed to be the sites of planet formation.
The aim is to examine the behaviour of the gas as it orbits around the star, and to
examine how planets that form in these discs interact with them. This interaction
may explain the fact that many of the extrasolar planets that have been discovered
outside of our solar system orbit close to their host stars.
ii) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the atmospheres of extrasolar
planets. These atmospheres display interesting patterns of gas flow, and extrasolar planets
often orbit close to their stars and so are strongly heated on one side, causing strong winds
to arise. The simulations will help us better understand these atmospheres.
iii) Using mathematical representations of the laws of physics, we will produce new models
for the early evolution of the Universe, shortly after the big-bang, during which time it
underwent very rapid expansion known as "inflation". The models will be compared with
observations of the Universe to see which ones are compatible with the data.
iv) We will use Einstein's theory of gravity to make detailed predictions about the distribution
of matter in the Universe, and how this matter distribution appears to an observer on Earth.
These predictions will be compared with observational data to test Einstein's gravity on the
largest scales.
v) We will use the access that we have to the next generation of infrared spectrographs to
look for low mass planets around nearby low mass stars, using measurements of the star's
radial velocity as it orbits around the system centre of mass. Low mass stars are the optimal
targets for finding low mass planets in their habitable zone, so this may be an efficient method
of finding the first habitable earth-like planets. We will also use these spectrographs to look
for the signatures of molecules in planet atmospheres.
vi) We will use an observational survey of the Universe being undertaken by the VISTA
telescope to search for very distant quasars - galaxies that have supermassive black holes
at their centres, and which were born when the Universe was less than 10% of its
current age. We have already discovered the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most distant quasars that
are known, and the aim is to increase this number to about 10. We will then be able
to estimate of how many quasars there were when the Universe was very young,
and we will be able to examine the black holes and the structures of their galaxies.
Planned Impact
The research proposed in this application is largely concerned with basic
scientific inquiry, and so in general it will not have high potential for
immediate economic or real world impact. The primary impact of the research
will be in the cultural sphere, as the research will increase the sum total of
human knowledge about the Universe and its constituents, and will therefore
enhance the sense of wonder about the world that we live in for the general public.
Our research in areas such as cosmology, extrasolar planets, quasars, black holes,
the Saturn system, space weather, and the origin of the Solar System all have
strong public appeal and interest.
The Astronomy Unit has an active programme of public engagement and
schools outreach, both to inform and engage the general public about our
research, and to also inspire school pupils to become interested in science
and to take STEM subjects post-GCSE. These engagement programmes
include giving public talks, having open days and evenings at the university
(e.g. Stargazing Live! events etc), and a range of media work that includes
TV and radio interviews. Our schools outreach programmes include summer schools,
essay writing competitions, going into schools to give talks and provide hands-on activities.
A recent initiative is a summer school for school students to learn about computer
coding while undertaking hands-on analysis of astronomical data. In doing this we are explicitly
supporting the STEM agenda through our research, which is a key government policy for building
long term economic growth.
Other areas of our research that may have applications outside of the academic sphere
include high performance computing and the development of advanced computer codes
and algorithms, and in advanced techniques in data analysis. Again, we will be alert to any
opportunities that may arise in finding real world or commercial applications of this work.
Finally, the posdoctoral staff that we will employ on the grant will receive training and
experience in a variety of skills that will be of great benefit to the wider economy if
they at some stage leave academia and work in industry or the commercial sector.
These skills include advanced computing and data analysis, independent problem
solving, project management, report writing through authorship of scientific
publications, and presentation skills obtained from conference attendance etc.
scientific inquiry, and so in general it will not have high potential for
immediate economic or real world impact. The primary impact of the research
will be in the cultural sphere, as the research will increase the sum total of
human knowledge about the Universe and its constituents, and will therefore
enhance the sense of wonder about the world that we live in for the general public.
Our research in areas such as cosmology, extrasolar planets, quasars, black holes,
the Saturn system, space weather, and the origin of the Solar System all have
strong public appeal and interest.
The Astronomy Unit has an active programme of public engagement and
schools outreach, both to inform and engage the general public about our
research, and to also inspire school pupils to become interested in science
and to take STEM subjects post-GCSE. These engagement programmes
include giving public talks, having open days and evenings at the university
(e.g. Stargazing Live! events etc), and a range of media work that includes
TV and radio interviews. Our schools outreach programmes include summer schools,
essay writing competitions, going into schools to give talks and provide hands-on activities.
A recent initiative is a summer school for school students to learn about computer
coding while undertaking hands-on analysis of astronomical data. In doing this we are explicitly
supporting the STEM agenda through our research, which is a key government policy for building
long term economic growth.
Other areas of our research that may have applications outside of the academic sphere
include high performance computing and the development of advanced computer codes
and algorithms, and in advanced techniques in data analysis. Again, we will be alert to any
opportunities that may arise in finding real world or commercial applications of this work.
Finally, the posdoctoral staff that we will employ on the grant will receive training and
experience in a variety of skills that will be of great benefit to the wider economy if
they at some stage leave academia and work in industry or the commercial sector.
These skills include advanced computing and data analysis, independent problem
solving, project management, report writing through authorship of scientific
publications, and presentation skills obtained from conference attendance etc.
Publications
Flock M
(2020)
Gas and Dust Dynamics in Starlight-heated Protoplanetary Disks
in The Astrophysical Journal
Umeh Obinna
(2019)
General relativistic effects in the galaxy bias at second order
in arXiv e-prints
Umeh O
(2019)
General relativistic effects in the galaxy bias at second order
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Paardekooper S
(2018)
Giant Planet Formation and Migration
in Space Science Reviews
Perger M
(2019)
Gliese 49: activity evolution and detection of a super-Earth A HADES and CARMENES collaboration
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Coleman G
(2023)
Global N -body simulations of circumbinary planet formation around Kepler-16 and -34 analogues I: Exploring the pebble accretion scenario
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ramsey J.
(2021)
Global Non-ideal MHD Simulations of Protoplanetary Disks with Irradiation, Thermochemistry, and Synthetic Observations
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
Riols A
(2017)
Gravitoturbulence and the excitation of small-scale parametric instability in astrophysical discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wang J
(2021)
H i intensity mapping with MeerKAT: calibration pipeline for multidish autocorrelation observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cunnington S
(2023)
H i intensity mapping with MeerKAT: power spectrum detection in cross-correlation with WiggleZ galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nelson R
(2018)
Handbook of Exoplanets
Anglada-Escudé G
(2018)
Handbook of Exoplanets
Alonso-Floriano F
(2019)
He I ? 10 830 Å in the transmission spectrum of HD209458 b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Abdurashidova Z
(2022)
HERA Phase I Limits on the Cosmic 21 cm Signal: Constraints on Astrophysics and Cosmology during the Epoch of Reionization
in The Astrophysical Journal
Berdiñas Z
(2017)
High-cadence spectroscopy of M-dwarfs - II. Searching for stellar pulsations with HARPS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sudarshan P
(2022)
How cooling influences circumbinary discs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sudarshan P
(2022)
How cooling influences circumbinary discs
Malik K
(2019)
How Cosmologists Explain the Universe to Friends and Family
Ziampras A
(2023)
Hydrodynamic turbulence in disks with embedded planets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ziampras A
(2022)
Hydrodynamic turbulence in disks with embedded planets
Nelson R
(2020)
Hydrodynamical turbulence in eccentric circumbinary discs and its impact on the in situ formation of circumbinary planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Challener R
(2021)
Identification and Mitigation of a Vibrational Telescope Systematic with Application to Spitzer
in The Planetary Science Journal
Gorce A
(2023)
Impact of instrument and data characteristics in the interferometric reconstruction of the 21 cm power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jolicoeur S
(2019)
Imprints of local lightcone projection effects on the galaxy bispectrum IV: second-order vector and tensor contributions
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Jolicoeur S
(2018)
Imprints of local lightcone projection effects on the galaxy bispectrum. Part III. Relativistic corrections from nonlinear dynamical evolution on large-scales
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Collaboration T
(2022)
Improved Constraints on the 21 cm EoR Power Spectrum and the X-Ray Heating of the IGM with HERA Phase I Observations
in arXiv e-prints
Challener Ryan C.
(2018)
Improved Methods for Spitzer Systematic Identification and Removal
in AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #50
Coleman G
(2017)
In situ accretion of gaseous envelopes on to planetary cores embedded in evolving protoplanetary discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Poon S
(2021)
In situ formation of hot Jupiters with companion super-Earths
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hallam P
(2018)
Investigating the possibility of reversing giant planet migration via gap edge illumination
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Carrilho P
(2018)
Isocurvature initial conditions for second order Boltzmann solvers
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Haswell Carole Ann
(2019)
Key Planets for Exogeology in the 2020s: Discoveries from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project
in AAS/Division for Extreme Solar Systems Abstracts
Fuentes Jorge L.
(2018)
Linear cosmological perturbations in almost scale-invariant fourth-order gravity
in arXiv e-prints
Paardekooper S
(2019)
Local numerical simulations of warped discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maartens R
(2021)
Local primordial non-Gaussianity in the relativistic galaxy bispectrum
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
McNally C
(2018)
Low mass planet migration in Hall-affected disks
McNally C
(2018)
Low mass planet migration in Hall-affected disks
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
McNally Colin P.
(2018)
Low mass planet migration in Hall-affected disks
in arXiv e-prints
McNally C
(2017)
Low mass planet migration in magnetically torqued dead zones - I. Static migration torque
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McNally Colin P.
(2020)
Low mass planet migration in three dimensional wind-driven inviscid discs: A negative corotation torque
in arXiv e-prints
McNally C
(2018)
Low-mass planet migration in magnetically torqued dead zones - II. Flow-locked and runaway migration, and a torque prescription
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gressel O
(2020)
Low-mass planet migration in three-dimensional wind-driven inviscid discs: a negative corotation torque
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | Astronomy Research at Queen Mary 2020 - 2023 |
Amount | £1,868,746 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T000341/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2020 |
End | 03/2024 |