Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
An astonishing feature of modern astrophysical research is that we have in principle a chain of explanation that stretches from processes on cosmological scales of billions of light years, down to the creation of stars, planets around the stars and life on the planets. In a sense, this process is almost a closed loop: the early Universe was once of sub-nuclear scale, so that quantum mechanical uncertainty is bound to seed fluctuations in density, which eventually collapse under gravity to make astronomical structures. This is the same physics of the very small that governs the formation of the atoms out of which we are all made.
But unanswered questions abound at all stages of this process. Our theories of the early Universe and explanations of its current expansion rest on the concept that empty space can have weight: the so-called "dark energy". We need to study its properties and understand its origin. In so doing, we often assume that Einstein's relativity describes gravity correctly on all scales, but can we test this? If the standard theory is correct, dark matter is required, and we are driven to follow the processes by which it clumps, and by which the gas within these clumps evolves and eventually collapses to form stars and massive black holes. New large telescopes on the ground, together with observing platforms in space such as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes (and soon the James Webb Space Telescope), allow us to see this process in action and compare the observations with detailed computer simulations. Nearer to home, we can dissect galaxies such as our own Milky Way into individual stars, for the most detailed view of how they were assembled. And finally we can study how planets arise around these stars, both from new instruments that can detect the presence of "exo-planets" and by computer simulations of how they may be created within the discs of gas and dust left over from star formation. Ultimately, one can refine the search to planets potentially capable of supporting life, and ask how life might arise within these early planetary systems.
Research in astronomy at Edinburgh attacks all of these connected questions. Progress is rapid, driven by technological breakthroughs in observational facilities and computing power, and our understanding is evolving rapidly. Major progress, even if not final answers, can be expected within a few years. This is an exciting time for our understanding of the full history and structure of our Universe and our place within it.
But unanswered questions abound at all stages of this process. Our theories of the early Universe and explanations of its current expansion rest on the concept that empty space can have weight: the so-called "dark energy". We need to study its properties and understand its origin. In so doing, we often assume that Einstein's relativity describes gravity correctly on all scales, but can we test this? If the standard theory is correct, dark matter is required, and we are driven to follow the processes by which it clumps, and by which the gas within these clumps evolves and eventually collapses to form stars and massive black holes. New large telescopes on the ground, together with observing platforms in space such as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes (and soon the James Webb Space Telescope), allow us to see this process in action and compare the observations with detailed computer simulations. Nearer to home, we can dissect galaxies such as our own Milky Way into individual stars, for the most detailed view of how they were assembled. And finally we can study how planets arise around these stars, both from new instruments that can detect the presence of "exo-planets" and by computer simulations of how they may be created within the discs of gas and dust left over from star formation. Ultimately, one can refine the search to planets potentially capable of supporting life, and ask how life might arise within these early planetary systems.
Research in astronomy at Edinburgh attacks all of these connected questions. Progress is rapid, driven by technological breakthroughs in observational facilities and computing power, and our understanding is evolving rapidly. Major progress, even if not final answers, can be expected within a few years. This is an exciting time for our understanding of the full history and structure of our Universe and our place within it.
Planned Impact
Details of our Pathways to Impact are provided in the separate 2-page attachment.
Organisations
Publications
Zavala J
(2017)
A dusty star-forming galaxy at z = 6 revealed by strong gravitational lensing
in Nature Astronomy
Zavala J
(2017)
A dusty star-forming galaxy at z = 6 revealed by strong gravitational lensing
in Nature Astronomy
Iyer K
(2018)
The SFR-M * Correlation Extends to Low Mass at High Redshift
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dye S
(2018)
The UKIRT Hemisphere Survey: definition and J-band data release
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cui W
(2018)
The Three Hundred project: a large catalogue of theoretically modelled galaxy clusters for cosmological and astrophysical applications
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lopez E
(2018)
How formation time-scales affect the period dependence of the transition between rocky super-Earths and gaseous sub-Neptunesand implications for ??
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hassan S
(2018)
Constraining the contribution of active galactic nuclei to reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
An F
(2018)
A Machine-learning Method for Identifying Multiwavelength Counterparts of Submillimeter Galaxies: Training and Testing Using AS2UDS and ALESS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Stone J
(2018)
The LEECH Exoplanet Imaging Survey: Limits on Planet Occurrence Rates under Conservative Assumptions
in The Astronomical Journal
Catinella B
(2018)
xGASS: total cold gas scaling relations and molecular-to-atomic gas ratios of galaxies in the local Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hoyle B
(2018)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: redshift distributions of the weak-lensing source galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Duivenvoorden S
(2018)
Red, redder, reddest: SCUBA-2 imaging of colour-selected Herschel sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Merlin E
(2018)
Chasing passive galaxies in the early Universe: a critical analysis in CANDELS GOODS-South
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sobral D
(2018)
The nature of luminous Ly a emitters at z ~ 2-3: maximal dust-poor starbursts and highly ionizing AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chang C
(2018)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: curved-sky weak lensing mass map
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Krajnovic D
(2018)
A quartet of black holes and a missing duo: probing the low end of the MBH-s relation with the adaptive optics assisted integral-field spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hill R
(2018)
High-resolution SMA imaging of bright submillimetre sources from the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gruen D
(2018)
Density split statistics: Cosmological constraints from counts and lensing in cells in DES Y1 and SDSS data
in Physical Review D
Dunne L
(2018)
The unusual ISM in blue and dusty gas-rich galaxies (BADGRS)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
An F
(2018)
A Machine-learning Method for Identifying Multiwavelength Counterparts of Submillimeter Galaxies: Training and Testing Using AS2UDS and ALESS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Duncan K
(2018)
Photometric redshifts for the next generation of deep radio continuum surveys - I. Template fitting
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Saxena A
(2018)
Discovery of a radio galaxy at z = 5.72
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quénard D
(2018)
The Fate of Formamide in a Fragmenting Protoplanetary Disk
in The Astrophysical Journal
Boccaletti A
(2018)
Observations of fast-moving features in the debris disk of AU Mic on a three-year timescale: Confirmation and new discoveries
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cochrane R
(2018)
The dependence of galaxy clustering on stellar mass, star-formation rate and redshift at z = 0.8-2.2, with HiZELS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vos J
(2018)
A Search for Variability in Exoplanet Analogues and Low-Gravity Brown Dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Duivenvoorden S
(2018)
Red, redder, reddest: SCUBA-2 imaging of colour-selected Herschel sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Narayanan D
(2018)
A Theory for the Variation of Dust Attenuation Laws in Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Eastwood D
(2018)
How black holes stop their host galaxy from growing without AGN feedback
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Copeland D
(2018)
The impact of baryons on the sensitivity of dark energy measurements
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McConnachie A
(2018)
The Large-scale Structure of the Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy. II. Hierarchical Structure in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zhang ZY
(2018)
Stellar populations dominated by massive stars in dusty starburst galaxies across cosmic time.
in Nature
Zurlo A
(2018)
Imaging radial velocity planets with SPHERE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rafieferantsoa M
(2018)
Predicting the neutral hydrogen content of galaxies from optical data using machine learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gürkan G
(2018)
LOFAR/H-ATLAS: the low-frequency radio luminosity-star formation rate relation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li Q
(2018)
Dark Molecular Gas in Simulations of z ~ 0 Disk Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ligi R
(2018)
Investigation of the inner structures around HD 169142 with VLT/SPHERE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fontanive C
(2018)
Constraining the multiplicity statistics of the coolest brown dwarfs: binary fraction continues to decrease with spectral type
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galicher R
(2018)
Astrometric and photometric accuracies in high contrast imaging: The SPHERE speckle calibration tool (SpeCal)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Damasso M
(2018)
Eyes on K2-3: A system of three likely sub-Neptunes characterized with HARPS-N and HARPS
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Stach S
(2018)
An ALMA Survey of the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey UKIDSS/UDS Field: Number Counts of Submillimeter Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rice K
(2018)
On fragmentation of turbulent self-gravitating discs in the long cooling time regime
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bermejo-Climent J
(2018)
On the early evolution of Local Group dwarf galaxy types: star formation and supernova feedback
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haywood R
(2018)
An Accurate Mass Determination for Kepler-1655b, a Moderately Irradiated World with a Significant Volatile Envelope
in The Astronomical Journal
Jones M
(2018)
The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): design and capabilities
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chang C
(2018)
The Splashback Feature around DES Galaxy Clusters: Galaxy Density and Weak Lensing Profiles
in The Astrophysical Journal
McLure R
(2018)
Dust attenuation in 2 < z < 3 star-forming galaxies from deep ALMA observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zucca P
(2018)
Shock location and CME 3D reconstruction of a solar type II radio burst with LOFAR
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Umehata H
(2018)
ALMA deep field in SSA22: Survey design and source catalog of a 20 arcmin2 survey at 1.1 mm
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
| Title | HiZELS star-forming galaxies at z=0.8-3.3 |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society with title ' The dynamics and distribution of angular momentum in HiZELS star-forming galaxies at z=0.8-3.3.' (bibcode: 2019MNRAS.486..175G) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/MNRAS/486/175 |
| Title | LOFAR LBA Sky Survey. I. |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR LBA Sky Survey. I. Survey description and preliminary data release.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...648A.104D) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/648/A104 |
| Title | LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) DR2 |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). V. Second data release.' (bibcode: 2022A&A...659A...1S) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/659/A1 |
| Title | LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey Deep Fields DR1 |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey: Deep Fields Data Release 1. II. The ELAIS-N1 LOFAR deep field.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...648A...2S) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/648/A2 |
| Title | LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey Deep Fields DR1 |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey: Deep Fields Data Release 1. III. Host-galaxy identifications and value added catalogues.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...648A...3K) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/648/A3 |
| Title | LoLSS-Deep Bootes 54MHz catalog |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR LBA Sky Survey: Deep Fields I. The Bootes Field.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...655A..40W) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/655/A40 |
| Title | LoTSS Deep Fields DR1 photometric redshifts |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: Deep Fields Data Release 1. IV. Photometric redshifts and stellar masses.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...648A...4D) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/648/A4 |
| Title | The nature of hyper luminous infrared galaxies |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The nature of hyper luminous infrared galaxies.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...654A.117G) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/654/A117 |