Astrophysics Research at Liverpool John Moores University
Lead Research Organisation:
Liverpool John Moores University
Department Name: Astrophysics Research Institute
Abstract
We propose to carry out a programme of research tackling cutting-edge astrophysical problems on a wide range of scales. Our work, which addresses several of PPARC's key scientific priorities, will be conducted under two main and interlinked themes: (i) Tme Domain Astrophysics (ii) Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei. In particular we wish to explore: the origin and wider importance of Gamma Ray Bursts, the most powerful explosions in the Universe; the fundamental properties of novae from observations of their explosions in our own and other galaxies; the structure of the Milky Way through microlensing studies; the environmental factors that influence galaxy evolution, and the part played in the development of galaxies by supermassive black holes. Our research uses the most advanced ground-based telescopes, space-borne satellites and data analysis tecniques to carry out observations from gamma rays to radio wavelengths and ARI staff are leading players in many of the new generation surveys. A significant fraction of our work involves time-domain studies, now made possible through our own robotic Liverpool Telescope project and our lead in developing global robotic telescope networks such as RoboNet. These projects are technically demanding and are supported at ARI by the latest developments in scheduling and robotic control software through e-Science programmes. The structure and organisation of the ARI is designed to deliver internationally excellent research, with efficient teaching programmes. Staff benefit from a continual programme of investment in research infrastructure and the ARI is a major international player in developing and exploiting outreach opportunities. The Institute in turn enjoys excellent support from the University which has enabled, for example, the recent appointment of several new staff to strenghten further our research work.
Publications
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
Baldry I
(2010)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the input catalogue and star-galaxy separation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bellini A
(2010)
The end of the white dwarf cooling sequence in M 67
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Pandey S
(2010)
GRB 090902B: AFTERGLOW OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gould A
(2010)
FREQUENCY OF SOLAR-LIKE SYSTEMS AND OF ICE AND GAS GIANTS BEYOND THE SNOW LINE FROM HIGH-MAGNIFICATION MICROLENSING EVENTS IN 2005-2008
in The Astrophysical Journal
Young D
(2010)
Two type Ic supernovae in low-metallicity, dwarf galaxies: diversity of explosions
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Sari R
(2010)
HYPERVELOCITY STARS AND THE RESTRICTED PARABOLIC THREE-BODY PROBLEM
in The Astrophysical Journal
GarcÃa-Berro E
(2010)
A white dwarf cooling age of 8 Gyr for NGC 6791 from physical separation processes.
in Nature
Gilbank D
(2010)
The Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey (ROLES): survey method and z~ 1 mass-dependent star formation rate density ROLES: method and SFRD
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Amblard A
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Dust temperature and redshift distribution of SPIRE and PACS detected sources using submillimetre colours
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Ryu Y
(2010)
OGLE-2009-BLG-092/MOA-2009-BLG-137: A DRAMATIC REPEATING EVENT WITH THE SECOND PERTURBATION PREDICTED BY REAL-TIME ANALYSIS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Mottram J
(2010)
The RMS survey: far-infrared photometry of young massive stars
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Molinari S.
(2010)
Hi-GAL: The Herschel Infrared Galactic Plane Survey
in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Stott J
(2010)
THE XMM CLUSTER SURVEY: THE BUILD-UP OF STELLAR MASS IN BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES AT HIGH REDSHIFT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bennett D
(2010)
MASSES AND ORBITAL CONSTRAINTS FOR THE OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lb,c JUPITER/SATURN ANALOG PLANETARY SYSTEM
in The Astrophysical Journal
Schaefer B
(2010)
DISCOVERY OF THE PREDICTED 2010 ERUPTION AND THE PRE-ERUPTION LIGHT CURVE FOR RECURRENT NOVA U SCORPII
in The Astronomical Journal
Ellison S
(2010)
Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - II. The effect of environment on interactions Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coppin K
(2010)
MID-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF CANDIDATE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI-DOMINATED SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Cirasuolo M
(2010)
A new measurement of the evolving near-infrared galaxy luminosity function out to z â?? 4: a continuing challenge to theoretical models of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gibson N
(2010)
A transit timing analysis of seven RISE light curves of the exoplanet system HAT-P-3
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dumas G
(2010)
COLD MOLECULAR GAS IN THE INNER TWO KILOPARSECS OF NGC 4151
in The Astrophysical Journal
Melandri A
(2010)
GRB 090313 AND THE ORIGIN OF OPTICAL PEAKS IN GAMMA-RAY BURST LIGHT CURVES: IMPLICATIONS FOR LORENTZ FACTORS AND RADIO FLARES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hounsell R
(2010)
EXQUISITE NOVA LIGHT CURVES FROM THE SOLAR MASS EJECTION IMAGER (SMEI)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith R
(2010)
Ultraviolet tails and trails in cluster galaxies: a sample of candidate gaseous stripping events in Coma Gaseous stripping candidates in Coma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dye S
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Evolution of the 250 µm luminosity function out to z = 0.5
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gilbank D
(2010)
The local star formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [O ii], H and UV luminosities Stripe 82 SFRDs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ando M
(2010)
DECIGO and DECIGO pathfinder
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Sumi T
(2010)
A COLD NEPTUNE-MASS PLANET OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb: Cold neptunes are common
in The Astrophysical Journal
Perets HB
(2010)
A faint type of supernova from a white dwarf with a helium-rich companion.
in Nature
Mucciarelli A
(2011)
Lithium abundance in the globular cluster M4: from the turn-off to the red giant branch bump? Lithium in M4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cassisi S
(2011)
A CLASSICAL CEPHEID IN A LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD ECLIPSING BINARY: EVIDENCE OF SHORTCOMINGS IN CURRENT STELLAR EVOLUTIONARY MODELS?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kawamura S
(2011)
The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna: DECIGO
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Percival S
(2011)
Modelling realistic horizontal branch morphologies and their impact on spectroscopic ages of unresolved stellar systems Modelling realistic horizontal branches
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gilbank D
(2011)
Erratum: The local star formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [O ii], Ha and UV luminosities Erratum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Skowron J
(2011)
BINARY MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2009-BLG-020 GIVES VERIFIABLE MASS, DISTANCE, AND ORBIT PREDICTIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
{Zamanov}, R. And {Boeva}, S. And {Latev}, G. And {Stoyanov}, K. And {Bode}, M.~F. And {Antov}, A. And {Bachev}, R.
(2011)
UBVRI observations of the flickering of the symbiotic star MWC 560
in Information Bulletin on Variable Stars
Arcavi I
(2011)
SN 2011dh: DISCOVERY OF A TYPE IIb SUPERNOVA FROM A COMPACT PROGENITOR IN THE NEARBY GALAXY M51
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nugent PE
(2011)
Supernova SN 2011fe from an exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf star.
in Nature
Guo Q
(2011)
Which haloes host Herschel-ATLAS galaxies in the local Universe? Clustering of Herschel-ATLAS galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cano Z
(2011)
XRF 100316D/SN 2010bh AND THE NATURE OF GAMMA-RAY BURST SUPERNOVAE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Osborne J
(2011)
THE SUPERSOFT X-RAY PHASE OF NOVA RS OPHIUCHI 2006
in The Astrophysical Journal
Robotham A
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the GAMA galaxy group catalogue (G3Cv1) GAMA: the GAMA galaxy group catalogue (G3Cv1)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ribeiro V
(2011)
The morphology of the expanding ejecta of V2491 Cygni (2008 N.2) Ejecta morphology in nova V2491 Cyg
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gal-Yam A
(2011)
REAL-TIME DETECTION AND RAPID MULTIWAVELENGTH FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS OF A HIGHLY SUBLUMINOUS TYPE II-P SUPERNOVA FROM THE PALOMAR TRANSIENT FACTORY SURVEY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wijesinghe D
(2011)
Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA): dust obscuration in galaxies and their recent star formation histories Obscuration in galaxies and SFHs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Urquhart J
(2011)
The Red MSX Source survey: distribution and properties of a sample of massive young stars Properties of sites of massive star formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barros S
(2011)
A lower mass for the exoplanet WASP-21b A lower mass for the exoplanet WASP-21b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Windhorst R
(2011)
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE DATA: PANCHROMATIC FAINT OBJECT COUNTS FOR 0.2-2 µm WAVELENGTH
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
{Zamanov}, R.~K. And {Tomov}, T. And {Bode}, M.~F. And {Miko{\l}ajewski}, M. And {Stoyanov}, K.~A. And {Stanishev}, V.
(2011)
Connection between the flickering and the mass outflow in the symbiotic binary star MWC 560
in Bulgarian Astronomical Journal
Perets H
(2011)
THE OLD ENVIRONMENT OF THE FAINT CALCIUM-RICH SUPERNOVA SN 2005cz
in The Astrophysical Journal
| Title | Robotic Control Software |
| Description | software developed to run the liverpool telescope in an autonomous fashion was licensed under GPL and released to Las Cumbres Observatory in return for 1200 hours guarenteed time on their telesopes. |
| IP Reference | |
| Protection | Copyrighted (e.g. software) |
| Year Protection Granted | 2007 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | The robotic software is of course key to the whole operation of the telescope- without it the majority of the scientific papers produced would not have been possible. |
| Description | Input to Parliamentary Inquiry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Provision of evidence and acting as expert witness for House of Commons S&T Committee Inquiry into astronomy and particle physics. Recommendations in final report supporting the Liverpool Telescope and National Schools' Observatory. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | National Schools Observatory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Enhanced interest and uptake of STEM subjects Increasing schools registration on NSO - more than 4000 currently |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| URL | http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/ |
| Description | National Schools' Observatory in FE Colleges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 500 FE College lecturers and their students engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period. www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | National Schools' Observatory in Primary Schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 1000 Primary school teachers and their pupils engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period. www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | National Schools' Observatory in Secondary Schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 2500 Secondary school teachers and their pupils engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | Press coverage relating to the Liverpool Telescope |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 12+ significant stories covered by the media through press releases related to the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | School and Public Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 50+ public talks and 200+ schools talks based around science from the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to data entered through eVal for the previous period. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | TV and radio coverage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Contributions to TV and radio broadcasts featuring LIverpool Telescope science. Total 20+ in this reporting period. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |