Towards a complete census of the quasar population
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Powered by mass accretion onto a massive black hole, quasars are amongst the most luminous objects in the Universe. However, despite their large luminosities, we still lack a clear census of the overall population. The difficulty in completing the quasar census is dust within the quasar, which obscures the mass accretion onto the black hole in many objects. Vicky will aim to use DESI and other large-area spectroscopic surveys to provide a complete census of quasars, including the difficult to identify and study red quasars. She will then study their properties to gain a better physical understanding of the overall quasar population.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| David Alexander (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Victoria Fawcett (Student) |
Publications
Fawcett V
(2023)
A striking relationship between dust extinction and radio detection in DESI QSOs: evidence for a dusty blow-out phase in red QSOs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fawcett V
(2020)
Fundamental differences in the radio properties of red and blue quasars: enhanced compact AGN emission in red quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/S505365/1 | 30/09/2018 | 29/09/2022 | |||
| 2114102 | Studentship | ST/S505365/1 | 30/09/2018 | 29/09/2022 | Victoria Fawcett |
| Description | Birmingham Astronomical Society talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk to the Birmingham Astronomical Society about my research, with discussion and questions afterwards, |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Castle College MCR Sunday Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk through Castle College MCR to other PGs about my research, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | Castle Conference talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk at the Castle Conference 2019 about my research, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Celebrate Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Celebrate Science is a Durham University run science engagement event for the general public which occurs every year in the Autumn. In both 2018 and 2019 I helped run the Astronomy stall, which had interactive activities such as virtual reality of the large scale structure, a galaxy maker machine and a galaxy lensing webcam activity. We had engagement from all ages, with the majority being children. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Changing Cosmic Perceptions: An Exploration of our Universe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 'Changing Cosmic Perceptions: An Exploration of our Universe' was a collaboration between Durham University's Astronomy department, a North East artist Mel Connell, and 2 primary schools in the North East. The project was to create a piece of artwork for the Astronomy building, Ogden Centre West. This was developed over 6 months, which consisted of three sessions, on three different themes: The Observers, The Creators and The Dreamers, in which I helped run two. These hands-on workshops had practical activities that also explored aspects of Astronomy. In one of the sessions, I developed and ran an activity which used marbles and black card to recreate the affect of stars around a black hole. Overall, we had participation from 60 year 5 pupils across two primary schools from Newton Aycliffe and Middlesborough. There were many questions and discussions during the workshops, with a fascination for black holes that was sparked due to many of the PhD students (including myself) talking about their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.newtonnews.co.uk/byerley-park-and-local-artist-create-cosmic-art-for-durham-university/ |
| Description | Durham Astronomy Society talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk for the Durham Astronomy Society about my research, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Durham Physics Society talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk for the Durham Physics Society about my research, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Furze Platt Senior School talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Public talk at the school I attended about my research and higher education, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Josephine Butler College Conference talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk at the Josephine Butler College Conference about my research + a poster presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Pint of Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk about my research at the Newcastle Pint of Science event which sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Reading Astronomical Society talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk for the Reading Astronomical Society about my research, with questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | STEMFest in Space |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Made a video on 'How to build a black hole' for STEMFest in Space - a virtual Science event aimed at schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpNvx4auaQw&t=17s |
| Description | Schools Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Three different senior schools attended through a school visit to take part in various science activities. I helped run the Astronomy stall and engaged with various students. Some students were considering taking a STEM subject at University so wanted to know more about studying Physics and Astronomy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Interact Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helped run a workshop at the The Interact Symposium public engagement event. This was based upon our work for the 'Changing Cosmic Perceptions' artwork project. We engaged with other outreach teams from different Universities, as well as postgraduate students who wanted to learn more about public engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Warwick Astronomy Society talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Around 10 Warwick University UGs attended with discussion and questions afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |