Astrophysics and Cosmology Research at the JBCA 2020-2023
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 changing with time- things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are a non-standard star type, 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 changing with time- things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are a non-standard star type, 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.
- 215000 Twitter and 18000 Facebook followers
- Stargazing live, Pulsar Hunters, Science Programmes presented by Danielle George
- JB Discovery centre with 190000 visitors per year
- Award winning Bluedot Festivals
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, AEON, Critical Software, MMI, 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.
- 215000 Twitter and 18000 Facebook followers
- Stargazing live, Pulsar Hunters, Science Programmes presented by Danielle George
- JB Discovery centre with 190000 visitors per year
- Award winning Bluedot Festivals
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, AEON, Critical Software, MMI, GEANT
- Newton programme for Radio Astronomy in Africa.
Organisations
Publications
Srinivasan S
(2021)
Cosmological gravity on all scales. Part II. Model independent modified gravity N-body simulations
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Di Valentino E
(2021)
Cosmology intertwined III: f s 8 and S 8
in Astroparticle Physics
Abdalla E
(2022)
Cosmology intertwined: A review of the particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology associated with the cosmological tensions and anomalies
in Journal of High Energy Astrophysics
Aad G
(2020)
CP Properties of Higgs Boson Interactions with Top Quarks in the tt[over ¯]H and tH Processes Using H??? with the ATLAS Detector.
in Physical review letters
MacCrann N
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Y3 results: blending shear and redshift biases in image simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Huang H
(2021)
Dark energy survey year 1 results: Constraining baryonic physics in the Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
To C
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Cosmological Constraints from Cluster Abundances, Weak Lensing, and Galaxy Correlations
in Physical Review Letters
Mawdsley B
(2020)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Wide-field mass maps via forward fitting in harmonic space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott T
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: A 2.7% measurement of baryon acoustic oscillation distance scale at redshift 0.835
in Physical Review D
Gatti M
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: clustering redshifts - calibration of the weak lensing source redshift distributions with redMaGiC and BOSS/eBOSS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott T
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Cosmological constraints from galaxy clustering and weak lensing
in Physical Review D
Amon A
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Cosmology from cosmic shear and robustness to data calibration
in Physical Review D
Gatti M
(2020)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: cosmology with moments of weak lensing mass maps - validation on simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zürcher D
(2022)
Dark energy survey year 3 results: Cosmology with peaks using an emulator approach
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jeffrey N
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Curved-sky weak lensing mass map reconstruction
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hartley W
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Deep Field optical + near-infrared images and catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
RodrÃguez-Monroy M
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: galaxy clustering and systematics treatment for lens galaxy samples
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ferrero I
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Galaxy mock catalogs for BAO analysis
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rosell A
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: galaxy sample for BAO measurement
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zacharegkas G
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: galaxy-halo connection from galaxy-galaxy lensing
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Prat J
(2022)
Dark energy survey year 3 results: High-precision measurement and modeling of galaxy-galaxy lensing
in Physical Review D
Chan K
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Measurement of the baryon acoustic oscillations with three-dimensional clustering
in Physical Review D
Everett S
(2022)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Measuring the Survey Transfer Function with Balrog
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Porredon A
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Optimizing the lens sample in a combined galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing analysis
in Physical Review D
Sevilla-Noarbe I
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Photometric Data Set for Cosmology
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Jarvis M
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey year 3 results: point spread function modelling
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Myles J
(2021)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: redshift calibration of the weak lensing source galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gatti M
(2021)
Dark energy survey year 3 results: weak lensing shape catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ramstedt S
(2020)
DEATHSTAR: Nearby AGB stars with the Atacama Compact Array I. CO envelope sizes and asymmetries: A new hope for accurate mass-loss-rate estimates
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Andriantsaralaza M
(2021)
DEATHSTAR: nearby AGB stars with the Atacama Compact Array II. CO envelope sizes and asymmetries: the S-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sweijen F
(2022)
Deep sub-arcsecond wide-field imaging of the Lockman Hole field at 144 MHz
in Nature Astronomy
Morgan R
(2023)
DeepZipper. II. Searching for Lensed Supernovae in Dark Energy Survey Data with Deep Learning
in The Astrophysical Journal
Muir J
(2021)
DES Y1 results: Splitting growth and geometry to test ? CDM
in Physical Review D
Sarron F
(2021)
DETECTIFz galaxy groups in the REFINE survey - I. Group detection and quenched fraction evolution at z < 2.5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stankowiak G
(2020)
Detection chain and electronic readout of the QUBIC instrument
Ammazzalorso S
(2020)
Detection of Cross-Correlation between Gravitational Lensing and ? Rays
in Physical Review Letters
Liu K
(2022)
Detection of quasi-periodic micro-structure in three millisecond pulsars with the Large European Array for Pulsars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cepeda-Arroita R
(2021)
Detection of spectral variations of Anomalous Microwave Emission with QUIJOTE and C-BASS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aaboud M
(2020)
Determination of jet calibration and energy resolution in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 8~\hbox {TeV}$$ using the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Aad G
(2020)
Dijet Resonance Search with Weak Supervision Using sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp Collisions in the ATLAS Detector.
in Physical review letters
Vleeschower L
(2022)
Discoveries and timing of pulsars in NGC 6440
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Adams N
(2023)
Discovery and properties of ultra-high redshift galaxies (9 < z < 12) in the JWST ERO SMACS 0723 Field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wang L
(2020)
Discovery and Timing of Pulsars in the Globular Cluster M13 with FAST
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bhattacharyya B
(2021)
Discovery and Timing of Three Millisecond Pulsars in Radio and Gamma-Rays with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and Fermi Large Area Telescope
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nieder L
(2020)
Discovery of a Gamma-Ray Black Widow Pulsar by GPU-accelerated Einstein@Home
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Wang Z
(2021)
Discovery of ASKAP J173608.2-321635 as a Highly Polarized Transient Point Source with the Australian SKA Pathfinder
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ray P
(2022)
Discovery, Timing, and Multiwavelength Observations of the Black Widow Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1555-2908
in The Astrophysical Journal
Schmiedeke A
(2021)
Dissecting the Supercritical Filaments Embedded in the 0.5 pc Subsonic Region of Barnard 5
in The Astrophysical Journal
Battye R
(2020)
Domain wall constraints on two-Higgs-doublet models with Z 2 symmetry
in Physical Review D
| Title | Comparing recent PTA results on the nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background - full noise and GWB parameter comparison plots |
| Description | A full collection of plots comparing the noise properties of individual pulsars and gravitational wave background parameters discussed in the companion paper Comparing recent PTA results on the nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background (IPTA 2024). Section4_GWB_comparison.zip supplements and expands section 4.1, "Comparing the published GWB measurements," of IPTA (2024). It contains parameter difference distributions for GWB model parameters. There are four different models included. The HD correlated powerlaw (PL) model make up the basis for Figure 2. Additionally, there are three comparisons not included in IPTA (2024). First, comparisons the common uncorrelated red noise (CURN) PL model are included. Finally, comparisons of two free spectral (FS) models (HD and CURN) are included. These comparisons fit the HD and CURN FS posteriors using the ceffyl software package, and then compare the parameters of the resulting powerlaw fits. Section5_Noise_comparison.zip supplements section 5, "Comparing Pulsar Noice Properties," of IPTA (2024). It contains plots for 27 pulsars timed by more than one PTA collaboration, including the plots for PSR J1012+5307, which are presented in Figure 7. The plots include noise parameter posteriors, time domain GP realizations, TOA residuals, and TOA radio frequency. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10809659 |
| Title | Comparing recent PTA results on the nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background - full noise and GWB parameter comparison plots |
| Description | A full collection of plots comparing the noise properties of individual pulsars and gravitational wave background parameters discussed in the companion paper Comparing recent PTA results on the nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background (IPTA 2024). Section4_GWB_comparison.zip supplements and expands section 4.1, "Comparing the published GWB measurements," of IPTA (2024). It contains parameter difference distributions for GWB model parameters. There are four different models included. The HD correlated powerlaw (PL) model make up the basis for Figure 2. Additionally, there are three comparisons not included in IPTA (2024). First, comparisons the common uncorrelated red noise (CURN) PL model are included. Finally, comparisons of two free spectral (FS) models (HD and CURN) are included. These comparisons fit the HD and CURN FS posteriors using the ceffyl software package, and then compare the parameters of the resulting powerlaw fits. Section5_Noise_comparison.zip supplements section 5, "Comparing Pulsar Noice Properties," of IPTA (2024). It contains plots for 27 pulsars timed by more than one PTA collaboration, including the plots for PSR J1012+5307, which are presented in Figure 7. The plots include noise parameter posteriors, time domain GP realizations, TOA residuals, and TOA radio frequency. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10809660 |
| Title | IPTA DR2 - GWB analysis MCMC output |
| Description | IPTA DR2 common red noise, MCMC output These files are the primary output from a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling process. They are samples from the posterior probability distribution for a particular model described in the companion paper. Each zipped tarball contains four files. The "chain" file has several tab-separated columns, each of which corresponds to a model parameter, except the last four which are metadata. The parameter names (including metadata) are listed in the companion "params" file. The frequencies used in the common red noise models are listed in the "crn_frequencies" file. Additional information is provided in a README file. Each row of the chain file is one sample from the model posterior. The first samples at the beginning of the MCMC are the "burn-in" phase, before the chain has converged to the posterior. We recommend discarding the first ~25% of samples before using them to make inferences. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/5787556 |
| Title | IPTA DR2 - GWB analysis MCMC output |
| Description | IPTA DR2 common red noise, MCMC output These files are the primary output from a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling process. They are samples from the posterior probability distribution for a particular model described in the companion paper. Each zipped tarball contains four files. The "chain" file has several tab-separated columns, each of which corresponds to a model parameter, except the last four which are metadata. The parameter names (including metadata) are listed in the companion "params" file. The frequencies used in the common red noise models are listed in the "crn_frequencies" file. Additional information is provided in a README file. Each row of the chain file is one sample from the model posterior. The first samples at the beginning of the MCMC are the "burn-in" phase, before the chain has converged to the posterior. We recommend discarding the first ~25% of samples before using them to make inferences. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/5787557 |
| Title | PN chemical abundances in Galactic Bulge |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society with title ' A catalogue of planetary nebulae chemical abundances in the Galactic bulge.' (bibcode: 2024MNRAS.527.6363T) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/MNRAS/527/6363 |