Astrophysics and Cosmology Research within the JBCA 2017-2020
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
This grant supports the research of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. Our research is a divided into 3 groups. There are too many specific proposals to describe in detail, do below we have given a brief layman's explanation of the work being carried out by the three groups.
Cosmology: This is the study of the Universe as a whole. The main aim is to understand the processes by which the large scale feature of the Universe formed and to constrain the various different kinds of matter that existed within it. These include dark matter and dark energy which are thought to constitute more than 95% of the total. We do this by comparison to observations of weak and strong gravitational lensing which is the distortion of light predicted to be caused by massive objects in Einstein' Theory of General Relativity, the cosmic microwave background which is the faint emission of radiation created at the time when protons and electrons come together to form hydrogen and the emission given off by neutral hydrogen atoms in galaxies. The research we propose here involves both theory and observation as well as the development of the technology necessary to make the observations possible.
Sun, Stars and Galaxies: The researchers in this group study a wide range of astrophysical processes that are reasonable for the formation and evolution of the objects in the name of the group. Specific key areas that the group is interested in are the formation of stars much larger than the Sun and the subsequent evolution, the properties of the so-called interstellar medium (ISM) which comprises molecules not bound to stars and the magnetic fields that permeate space.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are change with time: things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are non-standard star time, known as a neutron star, which is a dead star supported by the quantum pressure of neutrons. The radio emission from these objects pulses on an off with extraordinary regularity allowing them to acts cosmic clocks. The constantly measuring these clocks as the neutron stars spin and move through space, often impacted on by a companion star, allows the most precise constraints on the nature of gravity outside the solar system. Other phenomena studied by this group include Nova explosions, other variable stars, and variability induced by the lensing effects of one star passing in front of another, called microlensing.
Cosmology: This is the study of the Universe as a whole. The main aim is to understand the processes by which the large scale feature of the Universe formed and to constrain the various different kinds of matter that existed within it. These include dark matter and dark energy which are thought to constitute more than 95% of the total. We do this by comparison to observations of weak and strong gravitational lensing which is the distortion of light predicted to be caused by massive objects in Einstein' Theory of General Relativity, the cosmic microwave background which is the faint emission of radiation created at the time when protons and electrons come together to form hydrogen and the emission given off by neutral hydrogen atoms in galaxies. The research we propose here involves both theory and observation as well as the development of the technology necessary to make the observations possible.
Sun, Stars and Galaxies: The researchers in this group study a wide range of astrophysical processes that are reasonable for the formation and evolution of the objects in the name of the group. Specific key areas that the group is interested in are the formation of stars much larger than the Sun and the subsequent evolution, the properties of the so-called interstellar medium (ISM) which comprises molecules not bound to stars and the magnetic fields that permeate space.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are change with time: things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are non-standard star time, known as a neutron star, which is a dead star supported by the quantum pressure of neutrons. The radio emission from these objects pulses on an off with extraordinary regularity allowing them to acts cosmic clocks. The constantly measuring these clocks as the neutron stars spin and move through space, often impacted on by a companion star, allows the most precise constraints on the nature of gravity outside the solar system. Other phenomena studied by this group include Nova explosions, other variable stars, and variability induced by the lensing effects of one star passing in front of another, called microlensing.
Planned Impact
The range of research we undertake and the world-class facilities within and in close association with JBCA (the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, e-MERLIN, the Lovell Telescope, the ALMA ARC and the SKA HQ) will provide key pathways to increasing our already strong impact on UK and global industry, the next generation of scientists and engineers, and the general public. The University's investment in the Jodrell Bank site combined with significant external funding (e.g. from Heritage Lottery Fund) will enable us to expand its use as an iconic venue for public and industrial engagement. The programme described here formed a key part of the School's submission for REF2014, helping it to be ranked highest in the REF for physics impact with 83% at 4* and 17% at 3*. Our outreach \& public engagement programme is extremely strong and continues to grow, particularly through its work with the University's award-winning Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the BBC. With the recent decision on SKA HQ location and our strong research work in this area, there is also growing impact in both outreach and industrial engagement in this area.
Our "Pathways to Impact" statement in the case for support outlines things that we have done in recent times under the headings of "Outreach and Public Engagement" and "Industrial and economic impact". We list some highlights below.
- Jodcast: Podcast run by students with 7000 regular listeners.
- 230000 Twitter followers
- Stargazing live
- JB Discovery centre with 150000 visitors per year
- Award winning "Live from Jodrell Bank" rock concerts
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, GEANT
- Newton programme for Radio Astronomy in Africa.
Our "Pathways to Impact" statement in the case for support outlines things that we have done in recent times under the headings of "Outreach and Public Engagement" and "Industrial and economic impact". We list some highlights below.
- Jodcast: Podcast run by students with 7000 regular listeners.
- 230000 Twitter followers
- Stargazing live
- JB Discovery centre with 150000 visitors per year
- Award winning "Live from Jodrell Bank" rock concerts
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, GEANT
- Newton programme for Radio Astronomy in Africa.
Organisations
Publications
Caleb M
(2019)
Are all fast radio bursts repeating sources?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ilie C
(2019)
Evidence for magnetospheric effects on the radiation of radio pulsars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hartley P
(2019)
Strong lensing reveals jets in a sub-microJy radio-quiet quasar
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott T
(2019)
Dark Energy Survey year 1 results: Constraints on extended cosmological models from galaxy clustering and weak lensing
in Physical Review D
Purser S
(2019)
Erratum: Constraining the nature of DG Tau A's thermal and non-thermal radio emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes A
(2019)
Young massive star cluster formation in the Galactic Centre is driven by global gravitational collapse of high-mass molecular clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Decin L
(2019)
ALMA spectral line and imaging survey of a low and a high mass-loss rate AGB star between 335 and 362 GHz
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mancini L
(2019)
Physical properties and transmission spectrum of the WASP-74 planetary system from multiband photometry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Javid K
(2019)
Physical modelling of galaxy clusters detected by the Planck satellite
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McClintock T
(2019)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: weak lensing mass calibration of redMaPPer galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stevenson M
(2019)
The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): digital backend for the northern survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yu B
(2019)
Three-dimensional dust mapping of 12 supernovae remnants in the Galactic anticentre
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Remazeilles M
(2019)
Can we neglect relativistic temperature corrections in the Planck thermal SZ analysis?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sobey C
(2019)
Low-frequency Faraday rotation measures towards pulsars using LOFAR: probing the 3D Galactic halo magnetic field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gray M
(2019)
Maser flare simulations from oblate and prolate clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gordovskyy M
(2019)
Frequency-Distance Structure of Solar Radio Sources Observed by LOFAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Polzin E
(2019)
Long-term variability of a black widow's eclipses - A decade of PSR J2051$-$0827
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Radcliffe J
(2019)
Nowhere to Hide: Radio-faint AGN in GOODS-N field I. Initial catalogue and radio properties (Corrigendum)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Abbott TMC
(2019)
Cosmological Constraints from Multiple Probes in the Dark Energy Survey.
in Physical review letters
Govoni F
(2019)
A radio ridge connecting two galaxy clusters in a filament of the cosmic web.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Lang P
(2019)
Revealing the Stellar Mass and Dust Distributions of Submillimeter Galaxies at Redshift 2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gray M
(2019)
Maser Flare Simulations from Oblate and Prolate Clouds
Porayko N
(2019)
Testing the accuracy of the ionospheric Faraday rotation corrections through LOFAR observations of bright northern pulsars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wolleben M
(2019)
The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey: Polarimetry of the Southern Sky from 300 to 480 MHz
in The Astronomical Journal
Kovács A
(2019)
More out of less: an excess integrated Sachs-Wolfe signal from supervoids mapped out by the Dark Energy Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Power C
(2019)
nIFTy galaxy cluster simulations VI: the dynamical imprint of substructure on gaseous cluster outskirts.
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eden D
(2019)
SCOPE: SCUBA-2 Continuum Observations of Pre-protostellar Evolution - survey description and compact source catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Williams D
(2019)
Unveiling the 100 pc scale nuclear radio structure of NGC 6217 with e-MERLIN and the VLA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bhattacharyya B
(2019)
The GMRT High-resolution Southern Sky Survey for Pulsars and Transients. II. New Discoveries, Timing, and Polarization Properties
in The Astrophysical Journal
Coe M
(2019)
The semicentennial binary system PSR J2032+4127 at periastron: X-ray photometry, optical spectroscopy and SPH modelling.
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goldman S
(2019)
An Infrared Census of DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS). V. The Period-Luminosity Relation for Dusty Metal-poor AGB Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
Buchs R
(2019)
Phenotypic redshifts with self-organizing maps: A novel method to characterize redshift distributions of source galaxies for weak lensing
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Perera B
(2019)
The International Pulsar Timing Array: second data release
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Battye R
(2019)
Cosmologically viable generalized Einstein-aether theories
in Physical Review D
Wang J
(2019)
JCMT BISTRO Survey: Magnetic Fields within the Hub-filament Structure in IC 5146
in The Astrophysical Journal
Court J
(2019)
The eclipsing accreting white dwarf Z chameleontis as seen with TESS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Battye R
(2019)
Dark matter axion detection in the radio/mm-waveband
Han C
(2019)
OGLE-2018-BLG-1011Lb,c: Microlensing Planetary System with Two Giant Planets Orbiting a Low-mass Star
in The Astronomical Journal
Watson R
(2019)
QUIJOTE scientific results - III. Microwave spectrum of intensity and polarization in the Taurus Molecular Cloud complex and L1527
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanidas S
(2019)
The LOFAR Tied-Array All-Sky Survey (LOTAAS): Survey overview and initial pulsar discoveries
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Simpson J
(2019)
The East Asian Observatory SCUBA-2 Survey of the COSMOS Field: Unveiling 1147 Bright Sub-millimeter Sources across 2.6 Square Degrees
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lucas L
(2019)
Efficient source finding for radio interferometric images
in Astronomy and Computing
Perera B
(2019)
The dynamics of Galactic centre pulsars: constraining pulsar distances and intrinsic spin-down
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jew L
(2019)
The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): Simulated parametric fitting in single pixels in total intensity and polarization.
in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pace F
(2019)
Halo collapse: virialization by shear and rotation in dynamical dark-energy models. Effects on weak-lensing peaks
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Wykes S
(2019)
A 1D fluid model of the Centaurus A jet
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goldman S
(2019)
Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars in the Nearby Dwarf Galaxy Leo P
in The Astrophysical Journal
Feeney-Johansson A
(2019)
The First Detection of a Low-frequency Turnover in Nonthermal Emission from the Jet of a Young Star
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Soam A
(2019)
Magnetic Fields in the Infrared Dark Cloud G34.43+0.24
in The Astrophysical Journal
Description | The consolidated grant supported a wide range of activities in astrophysics and cosmology at the JBCA. This was based around three areas: cosmology - the study of the Universe as a single entity, pulsars - spinning neutron stars which emit pulse of radio waves at regular intervals, astrophysical processes - the study of galaxy and star formation in the universe. Progress was made in all these areas. |
Exploitation Route | The wide range of work produce by the grant has been published in journals. These papers have received significant citations indicating that all the areas have had an impact within the academic research community. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Other |
Description | The research has been used extensively in the outreach program of the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, which attracts 160,000 visitors per annum and focusses on hard-to-reach audiences. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |