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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.

Publications

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Pacaud F (2007) The XMM -LSS survey: the Class 1 cluster sample over the initial 5 deg2 and its cosmological modelling in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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McCarthy I (2010) The case for AGN feedback in galaxy groups AGN feedback in galaxy groups in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Croston J (2009) High-energy particle acceleration at the radio-lobe shock of Centaurus A in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Rasmussen J (2008) Galaxy evolution in Hickson compact groups: the role of ram-pressure stripping and strangulation in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Maughan B (2008) Testing the galaxy cluster mass-observable relations at z =1 with XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of XLSSJ022403.9-041328 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Smith G (2010) LoCuSS: connecting the dominance and shape of brightest cluster galaxies with the assembly history of massive clusters LoCuSS: BCG dominance at z = 0.2 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Mahajan S (2010) Star formation, starbursts and quenching across the Coma supercluster in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Spreckley S (2008) The period and amplitude changes of Polaris ( UMi) from 2003 to 2007 measured with SMEI in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Dariush A (2010) The mass assembly of galaxy groups and the evolution of the magnitude gap in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Rasmussen J (2009) Temperature and abundance profiles of hot gas in galaxy groups - II. Implications for feedback and ICM enrichment in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society