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
Kondapally R
(2022)
Cosmic evolution of low-excitation radio galaxies in the LOFAR two-metre sky survey deep fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kondapally R
(2022)
Cosmic evolution of low-excitation radio galaxies in the LOFAR two-metre sky survey deep fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koprowski M
(2018)
A direct calibration of the IRX-ß relation in Lyman-break Galaxies at z = 3-5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koprowski M
(2020)
An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 cosmology legacy survey UKIDSS/UDS field: Dust attenuation in high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kosiarek M
(2019)
K2-291b: A Rocky Super-Earth in a 2.2 day Orbit * â€
in The Astronomical Journal
Koukoufilippas N
(2020)
Tomographic measurement of the intergalactic gas pressure through galaxy-tSZ cross-correlations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kovacs E
(2022)
Validating Synthetic Galaxy Catalogs for Dark Energy Science in the LSST Era
in The Open Journal of Astrophysics
Kovacs E
(2022)
Validating Synthetic Galaxy Catalogs for Dark Energy Science in the LSST Era
in The Open Journal of Astrophysics
Kovács A
(2022)
The DES view of the Eridanus supervoid and the CMB cold spot
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kovács A
(2022)
The DES view of the Eridanus supervoid and the CMB cold spot
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
Kraljic K
(2020)
The impact of the connectivity of the cosmic web on the physical properties of galaxies at its nodes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kuzma P
(2022)
Forward and back: kinematics of the Palomar 5 tidal tails
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kuzma P
(2021)
Detecting globular cluster tidal extensions with Bayesian inference - I. Analysis of ? Centauri with Gaia EDR3
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kuzma P
(2021)
Detecting globular cluster tidal extensions with Bayesian inference - I. Analysis of ? Centauri with Gaia EDR3
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lacedelli G
(2022)
Investigating the architecture and internal structure of the TOI-561 system planets with CHEOPS, HARPS-N, and TESS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lacedelli G
(2021)
An unusually low density ultra-short period super-Earth and three mini-Neptunes around the old star TOI-561
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lacedelli G
(2022)
Investigating the architecture and internal structure of the TOI-561 system planets with CHEOPS, HARPS-N, and TESS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lacedelli G
(2021)
An unusually low density ultra-short period super-Earth and three mini-Neptunes around the old star TOI-561
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lagrange A
(2019)
Post-conjunction detection of ß Pictoris b with VLT/SPHERE
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lalchand B
(2022)
A Novel Survey for Young Substellar Objects with the W-band Filter. V. IC 348 and Barnard 5 in the Perseus Cloud
in The Astronomical Journal
Lam M
(2019)
The white dwarf luminosity functions from the Pan-STARRS 1 3p Steradian Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Langellier N
(2021)
Detection Limits of Low-mass, Long-period Exoplanets Using Gaussian Processes Applied to HARPS-N Solar Radial Velocities
in The Astronomical Journal
Langlois M
(2021)
The SPHERE infrared survey for exoplanets (SHINE) II. Observations, data reduction and analysis, detection performances, and initial results
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Latif M
(2021)
Radiation hydrodynamical simulations of the birth of intermediate-mass black holes in the first galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Latif M
(2022)
The Birth Mass Function of Population III Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
Latif M
(2022)
Turbulent cold flows gave birth to the first quasars
in Nature
Latif M
(2020)
Inception of a first quasar at cosmic dawn
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Latif M
(2022)
The Birth Mass Function of Population III Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
Latif M
(2020)
The Birth of Binary Direct-collapse Black Holes
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Lazzoni C
(2020)
The search for disks or planetary objects around directly imaged companions: a candidate around DH Tauri B
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lazzoni C
(2020)
The search for disks or planetary objects around directly imaged companions: a candidate around DH Tauri B
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lazzoni C
(2018)
Dynamical models to explain observations with SPHERE in planetary systems with double debris belts
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Leauthaud A
(2022)
Lensing without borders - I. A blind comparison of the amplitude of galaxy-galaxy lensing between independent imaging surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee S
(2022)
Probing gravity with the DES-CMASS sample and BOSS spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee S
(2022)
Probing gravity with the DES-CMASS sample and BOSS spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee S
(2022)
Galaxy-galaxy lensing with the DES-CMASS catalogue: measurement and constraints on the galaxy-matter cross-correlation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee S
(2022)
Galaxy-galaxy lensing with the DES-CMASS catalogue: measurement and constraints on the galaxy-matter cross-correlation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lemos P
(2021)
Assessing tension metrics with dark energy survey and Planck data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leung G
(2021)
Joint gas and stellar dynamical models of WLM: an isolated dwarf galaxy within a cored, prolate DM halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leung T
(2019)
The ISM Properties and Gas Kinematics of a Redshift 3 Massive Dusty Star-forming Galaxy
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lewis A
(2018)
Ultra-red Galaxies Signpost Candidate Protoclusters at High Redshift
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lewis G
(2023)
Chemo-dynamical substructure in the M31 inner halo globular clusters: further evidence for a recent accretion event
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
Li Q
(2021)
The origin of the dust extinction curve in milky way-like galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ligi R
(2018)
Investigation of the inner structures around HD 169142 with VLT/SPHERE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lilleengen S
(2023)
The effect of the deforming dark matter haloes of the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud on the Orphan-Chenab stream
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lim C
(2020)
SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (Studies). III. Multiwavelength Properties, Luminosity Functions, and Preliminary Source Catalog of 450 µm Selected Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lim D
(2021)
Chemodynamics of metal-poor wide binaries in the Galactic halo: Association with the Sequoia event
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lira P
(2021)
Spectropolarimetry of NGC 3783 and Mrk 509: Evidence for powerful nuclear winds in Seyfert 1 Galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| 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 |