Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham 2008-2013
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Over recent years observational astronomers at Durham have been at the forefront of many major advances in the study of galaxies and cosmology. We have a publication and citation record which we believe speaks for itself (see proposal introduction). Durham astronomers currently lead major international projects that exploit many of the the world's foremost ground and space observatories. We will capitalize on our proven track record in AGN studies, precision spectrophotometric analysis of stellar populations in nearby galaxies, multiwavelength studies of galaxy populations at high redshift and panoramic QSO and galaxy surveys, to answer open questions which lie at the core of modern astrophysics. In this proposal we present the case for support of a coherent and comprehensive programme that builds on our strengths and seizes new opportunities. Our programme addresses key questions in the STFC Roadmap, such as ``What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions?'', ``How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?'' and ``What is the Universe made of and how does it evolve?''. This proposal is constructed around the four core themes of our research: Theme A: AGN: outflows from black holes their growth and environment Theme B: Galaxy evolution and archaeology and closely related to this; Theme C: feedback and the formation of galaxies Theme D: Survey cosmology, using galaxies and clusters as probes of large scale structure and evolution There is a well established deep rooted synergy between our work and the research of the ICC group, and the instrumentation group (CfAI).
Publications
De Almeida U
(2010)
Particle acceleration and magnetic field structure in PKS 2155-304: optical polarimetric observations Optical polarimetry of PKS 2155-304
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Benson A
(2011)
Accretion shocks and cold filaments in galaxy formation Accretion shocks and cold filaments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Balogh M
(2010)
The stellar and hot gas content of low-mass galaxy clusters Stars and hot gas in low-mass galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
A search for neutral carbon towards two z = 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN???20 and GN???20.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Price J
(2011)
The stellar populations of bright coma cluster galaxies Stellar populations of bright Coma galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McGee S
(2009)
The accretion of galaxies into groups and clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hartley W
(2010)
The evolution of galaxy clustering since z= 3 using the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey: the divergence of passive and star-forming galaxies Clustering of passive galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bower R
(2010)
The parameter space of galaxy formation The parameter space of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Lucia G
(2009)
On the role of the post-starburst phase in the buildup of the red sequence of intermediate-redshift clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
Confirming a population of hot-dust dominated, star-forming, ultraluminous galaxies at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fine S
(2008)
Constraining the quasar population with the broad-line width distribution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hau G
(2008)
Is NGC 3108 transforming itself from an early- to late-type galaxy - an astronomical hermaphrodite?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gargiulo A
(2009)
On the origin of the scatter around the Fundamental Plane: correlations with stellar population parameters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ivison R
(2011)
Tracing the molecular gas in distant submillimetre galaxies via CO(1-0) imaging with the Expanded Very Large Array EVLA imaging of CO(1-0) in submm galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bothwell M
(2010)
High-resolution CO and radio imaging of ULIRGs: extended CO structures and implications for the universal star formation law
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Norris M
(2008)
Gemini/GMOS spectroscopy of the spheroid and globular cluster system of NGC 3923
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Croom S
(2009)
The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO Survey: the spectroscopic QSO catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Allington-Smith J
(2010)
Astrophotonic spectroscopy: defining the potential advantage
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Merluzzi P
(2010)
ACCESS: NIR luminosity function and stellar mass function of galaxies in the Shapley supercluster environment
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mullaney J
(2008)
Optical emission-line properties of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and comparison active galactic nuclei Emission line properties of NLS1 AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith R
(2009)
A spectroscopic survey of dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster: stellar populations, environment and downsizing
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hoyos C
(2011)
The HST/ACS Coma Cluster Survey - III. Structural parameters of galaxies using single Sérsic fits? Structural parameters of galaxies in Coma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McCarthy I
(2008)
Towards a holistic view of the heating and cooling of the intracluster medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Swinbank A
(2009)
A spatially resolved map of the kinematics, star formation and stellar mass assembly in a star-forming galaxy at z = 4.9
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Younger J
(2008)
Clarifying the nature of the brightest submillimetre sources: interferometric imaging of LH 850.02
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | The programme funded by this grant produce a number of observational insights into fundamental features of galaxies, black holes and large-scale structure. To give just one example, using the newly-completed Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) we undertook the first survey of extreme starburst galaxies in the distant Universe, demonstrating that these galaxies are very likely to be the progenitors of the most massive galaxies seen today in the local Universe, but seen in an early and very active phase of formation. |
| Exploitation Route | Further academic research or through the development of new facilities (e.g. ELT and SKA) or observational programmes. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | http://www.astro.dur.ac.uk/Cosmology |
| Description | 6dFGS survey |
| Organisation | Australian Astronomical Observatory |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C |
| Collaborator Contribution | Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S |
| Impact | now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities. |
| Description | 6dFGS survey |
| Organisation | Australian National University (ANU) |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C |
| Collaborator Contribution | Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S |
| Impact | now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities. |
| Description | Wide field astronomical surveys |
| Organisation | University of Hawaii |
| Department | Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Durham an offical partnet in the Pan-STARRS consortium, which operate a telescope in Hawaii. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They provide the telscope and operations support. |
| Impact | The principle output is research papers published in refereed journals. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | Seminars and invited talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | All of the co-applicants on this grants have given numberous seminars and invited talks at universities and international meetings and conferences. These activities help to enhance the wider knowledge of our research, and foster new collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012 |