A Programme of Astrophysics, Cosmology and Technology in Cardiff 2016-19
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We propose a programme of Astrophysics, Cosmology and Technology development for Astrophysics and Cosmology, to investigate star and planet formation in our own and other galaxies, and how galaxies form and evolve. This programme will combine observational data from world-class ground and space-based observatories, as well as theoretical modelling and simulations of the processes that result in the Universe we observe around us. We will also continue to develop the world's most sensitive detectors for very long infrared wavelengths, along with associated optical components utilising 'metamaterials' the class of materials designed and manufactured by human beings to have the properties best suited to their task, rather than relying on naturally occurring minerals and plastics. Both of these areas of technology development potentially have wide applications outside of Astronomy, in areas such as security scanners and bio-medical imaging for example. The technologies used for imaging can also be extended to undertake spectroscopy, and we propose a programme to develop the capability to obtain a spectrum of every point in a large area image of the sky, which is essential for understanding how far away the objects found in deep surveys are, but also what the conditions in the gas that make up these objects are.
Planned Impact
The technology programme proposed here will have extensive impact outside of astronomy. Firstly in other academic subject areas such as Earth-observing where the technology is used to look downwards or sideways through the atmosphere rather than upwards, but also in bio-medical imaging, where the Far-infrared wavelength range has many spectral features, and is currently being used in collaboration with the School of Optometry in Cardiff to assess corneal damage, for example. Secondly we also plan to exploit the technology commercially, through the spinout company QMCI (www.terahertz.co.uk) which operates from within the School, with broad applications from fast plasma diagnostic systems in use in Fusion experiments, through laboratory spectroscopy across a wide range of chemistry and materials applications, through to security imaging. We also plan a very strong Outreach programme across both the technology developments and the observational and theoretical astrophysics and cosmology programme, following on from the skills developed during the very successful Herschel/Planck outreach programme, with web-based and standard media information releases, but also tied in with Open days, school visits, and going out into schools and colleges to give presentations and host workshops. This work is closely aligned also with the in-house science communication company Science Made Simple.
Publications
Louis T
(2017)
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: two-season ACTPol spectra and parameters
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Rigby A
(2024)
The dynamic centres of infrared-dark clouds and the formation of cores
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rigopoulou D
(2017)
The European Far-Infrared Space Roadmap
Duarte-Cabral A
(2017)
The evolution of Giant Molecular Filaments
Duarte-Cabral A
(2017)
The evolution of giant molecular filaments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Campbell Ashton Peter
(2017)
The First Observation of the Submillimeter Polarization Spectrum in a Low-A
V Molecular Cloud
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
Marchetti L
(2015)
The HerMES submillimetre local and low-redshift luminosity functions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bertelli Motta C
(2016)
The IMF as a function of supersonic turbulence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bertelli Motta C
(2016)
The IMF as a function of supersonic turbulence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Colombo D
(2019)
The integrated properties of the molecular clouds from the JCMT CO(3-2) High-Resolution Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ward-Thompson D
(2016)
The JCMT and Herschel Gould Belt Surveys: a comparison of SCUBA-2 and Herschel data of dense cores in the Taurus dark cloud L1495
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lyo A
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: An 850/450 µm Polarization Study of NGC 2071IR in Orion B
in The Astrophysical Journal
Doi Y
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Evidence for Pinched Magnetic Fields in Quiescent Filaments of NGC 1333
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Doi Y
(2020)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Magnetic Fields Associated with a Network of Filaments in NGC 1333
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fanciullo L
(2022)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: multiwavelength polarimetry of bright regions in NGC 2071 in the far-infrared/submillimetre range, with POL-2 and HAWC+
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eswaraiah C
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Revealing the Diverse Magnetic Field Morphologies in Taurus Dense Cores with Sensitive Submillimeter Polarimetry
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Hwang J
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: The Distribution of Magnetic Field Strengths toward the OMC-1 Region
in The Astrophysical Journal
Könyves V
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO-2 Survey: The Magnetic Field in the Center of the Rosette Molecular Cloud
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rumble D
(2021)
The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: radiative heating by OB stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirk H
(2018)
The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: SCUBA-2 Data Reduction Methods and Gaussian Source Recovery Analysis
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Lee Y
(2021)
The JCMT Transient Survey: Four-year Summary of Monitoring the Submillimeter Variability of Protostars
in The Astrophysical Journal
Scudder J
(2016)
The multiplicity of 250-µm Herschel sources in the COSMOS field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Catalano A
(2018)
The NIKA2 Instrument at 30-m IRAM Telescope: Performance and Results
in Journal of Low Temperature Physics
Catalano A
(2018)
The NIKA2 Instrument at 30-m IRAM Telescope: Performance and Results
in Journal of Low Temperature Physics
Calvo M
(2016)
The NIKA2 Instrument, A Dual-Band Kilopixel KID Array for Millimetric Astronomy
in Journal of Low Temperature Physics
Calvo M
(2016)
The NIKA2 Instrument, A Dual-Band Kilopixel KID Array for Millimetric Astronomy
in Journal of Low Temperature Physics
Adam R
(2018)
The NIKA2 large-field-of-view millimetre continuum camera for the 30 m IRAM telescope
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Misawa R
(2017)
The optical performance of the PILOT instrument from ground end-to-end tests
in Experimental Astronomy
Misawa R
(2017)
The optical performance of the PILOT instrument from ground end-to-end tests
in Experimental Astronomy
Mot B
(2017)
The PILOT optical alignment for its first flight
in CEAS Space Journal
Mot B
(2017)
The PILOT optical alignment for its first flight
in CEAS Space Journal
Gandilo Natalie
(2017)
The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER)
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
Gandilo N.N.
(2016)
The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER)
in Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Soler J
(2017)
The relation between the column density structures and the magnetic field orientation in the Vela C molecular complex
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Simpson C
(2016)
THE ROLE OF COSMIC-RAY PRESSURE IN ACCELERATING GALACTIC OUTFLOWS
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Simpson C
(2016)
THE ROLE OF COSMIC-RAY PRESSURE IN ACCELERATING GALACTIC OUTFLOWS
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Duarte-Cabral A
(2020)
The SEDIGISM survey: Molecular clouds in the inner Galaxy
Duarte-Cabral A
(2021)
The SEDIGISM survey: molecular clouds in the inner Galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gatto A
(2017)
The SILCC project - III. Regulation of star formation and outflows by stellar winds and supernovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gatto A
(2017)
The SILCC project - III. Regulation of star formation and outflows by stellar winds and supernovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Buckner A
(2019)
The spatial evolution of young massive clusters I. A new tool to quantitatively trace stellar clustering
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Peters T
(2017)
The turbulent life of dust grains in the supernova-driven, multiphase interstellar medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Peters T
(2017)
The turbulent life of dust grains in the supernova-driven, multiphase interstellar medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pisano G
(2023)
Thin flexible multi-octave metamaterial absorber for millimeter wavelengths.
in Applied optics
Gruppioni C
(2017)
Tracing the Evolution of Dust Obscured Star Formation and Accretion Back to the Reionisation Epoch with SPICA
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Kaneda H
(2017)
Unbiased Large Spectroscopic Surveys of Galaxies Selected by SPICA Using Dust Bands
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Peñaloza C
(2017)
Using CO line ratios to trace the physical properties of molecular clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Peñaloza C
(2017)
Using CO line ratios to trace the physical properties of molecular clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Astronomy Grants |
| Amount | £2,212,225 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/K000926/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2013 |
| End | 04/2016 |
| Description | The Simons Observatory |
| Organisation | Simons Observatory |
| Country | Chile |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Within this award the following are members of the Simons Observatory: Prof Carole Tucker, Prof Peter Ade, Dr Erminia Callabrese, Dr Enzo Pascale, Dr Rashmi Sudiwala. The following have the status, 'Motivated Observer', Dr Simon Doyle, Prof Peter Hargrave, Dr Giampaolo Pisano. Dr Erminia Calabrese is a member of the Simons Observatory Theory and Analysis Committee (SOTAC); Profs Tucker and Ade & Dr Pascale are members of technical working groups. Cardiff technology, funded through successive STFC grants enables the control of the thermal and optical environment on this large scale Submm telescope. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Simons Observatory will fund infrastructure upgrade to existing STFC funded facilities for the manufacture of quasi optical components to very large sizes (700 mm). Cardiff STFC-funded academics will be authors of forthcoming scientific papers by the SO team. |
| Impact | Outputs will be in future - during instrument build and then first light - from 2020. |
| Start Year | 2017 |