A programme of astronomy at the University of Hertfordshire
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Hertfordshire
Department Name: Science and Technology RI
Abstract
This application is to support the programme of research at The Centre for Astrophysics Research (CAR) at the University of Hertfordshire. The research includes: - conducting follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts, the most violent events in the Universe, detected by the Swift space mission, so as to better understand the nature and origin of these remarkable events. We will also use the huge luminosity of GRBs to study the distant regions of the universe where we find them; - understanding the formation and evolution of massive galaxies and the role of submillimetre-luminous galaxies in the early universe; - investigating the nature of a new class of star clusters found in the Milky Way's near neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy. Why no similar clusters exist in the Milky Way is a mystery, and may be telling us that the two galaxies evolved in different ways. We also plan to use our observations of these and other clusters to investigate the properties of so-called 'dark matter', which astronomers think makes up about 90% of the universe but which seems to be completely invisible; - to understand how the centres of active galaxies are fuelled, i.e. those where the energy produced is far more than can be produced by stars, and is most likely from accretion on to a massive black hole; - to determine the structure of active galactic nuclei and to understand why there is such a wide range of radio powers associated with active galaxies; - to determine what are the sufficient and necessary conditions for star formation to commence by studying the star formation process in nearby galaxies at scales of the local Jeans length, and to tie this in with star formation at large look-back times; - understand the energetics of the violent interstellar medium, notably the feedback cycle which links massive star formation to the surrounding medium, and it's impact on the disk-halo interface (ranging from setting up localised blow-out of gas to creating galactic winds, and the subsequent enrichment of the intergalactic medium); - to search for and identify all the massive star-forming regions in our Galaxy and from them learn how massive stars are formed; - to measure the energy distribution at optical and infrared wavelengths for extra-solar planets found close to their parent stars, these will give vital insights into the composition, formation and evolution of giant planets; - to understand the occurrence, formation history and properties of 'failed stars' known as brown dwarfs; - to understand the process of mass loss in evolved stars; this matter returns to the interstellar medium and eventually forms new stars; - using spectra to measure the composition of the oldest known stars in order to determine what types of stars were the first to form after the big bang; - a proposal to construct a new optical imaging camera to be used as a visitor instrument on the WHT, which will allow, among many other collaborative applications, a study of the morphology of massive star formation in galaxies; - the CAR has built a polarimeter (PlanetPol) with sufficiently high sensitivity to detect the polarization signature of the so-called hot-Jupiters (extrasolar planets with a size similar to that of Jupiter but in an orbit very close to the star).
Organisations
- University of Hertfordshire (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- McMaster University (Collaboration)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Collaboration)
- Leiden University (Collaboration)
- University of Florida (Collaboration)
- The Open University (Collaboration)
- University of Cape Town (Collaboration)
Publications
Jakobsson P
(2006)
H I column densities of z > 2 Swift gamma-ray bursts
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Leroy A
(2009)
HERACLES: THE HERA CO LINE EXTRAGALACTIC SURVEY
in The Astronomical Journal
Oh S
(2008)
HIGH-RESOLUTION DARK MATTER DENSITY PROFILES OF THINGS DWARF GALAXIES: CORRECTING FOR NONCIRCULAR MOTIONS
in The Astronomical Journal
De Blok W
(2008)
HIGH-RESOLUTION ROTATION CURVES AND GALAXY MASS MODELS FROM THINGS
in The Astronomical Journal
Folkes S
(2012)
Identifying ultra-cool dwarfs at low Galactic latitudes: a southern candidate catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Levan Andrew
(2006)
Infrared and optical observations of GRB 030115 and its extremely red host galaxy:: Implications for dark bursts
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Parsons H
(2009)
Infrared dark cloud cores in the SCUBA Legacy Catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lewis G
(2007)
Inside the whale: the structure and dynamics of the isolated Cetus dwarf spheroidal The Cetus dwarf galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ivison R
(2008)
Interferometric imaging of the high-redshift radio galaxy, 4C 60.07: an SMA, Spitzer and VLA study reveals a binary AGN/starburst
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lawton B
(2008)
LIMITS ON REDDENING AND GAS-TO-DUST RATIOS FOR SEVEN INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFT DAMPED Lya ABSORBERS FROM DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BANDS
in The Astronomical Journal
Ustinov E
(2008)
Linearization of radiative heating and cooling rates for the case of non-scattering planetary atmospheres
in Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer
Hosford A
(2008)
Lithium abundances of halo dwarfs based on excitation temperature I. Local thermodynamic equilibrium
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fruchter AS
(2006)
Long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae have different environments.
in Nature
Nishiyama S
(2009)
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATION AT THE GALACTIC CENTER INVESTIGATED BY WIDE FIELD NEAR-INFRARED POLARIMETRY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hill T
(2006)
Millimetre continuum observations of southern massive star formation regions - II. SCUBA observations of cold cores and the dust grain emissivity index (ß)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Priddey R
(2006)
Millimetric properties of gamma-ray burst host galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mazzuca L
(2006)
Minor Merger Origin for the Circumnuclear Starburst in NGC 7742
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bournaud F
(2007)
Missing mass in collisional debris from galaxies.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Laurikainen E
(2006)
Morphology of 15 Southern Early?Type Disk Galaxies
in The Astronomical Journal
Rich J
(2008)
MULTI-SCALE CLEAN: A COMPARISON OF ITS PERFORMANCE AGAINST CLASSICAL CLEAN ON GALAXIES USING THINGS
in The Astronomical Journal
Pandey S
(2006)
Multi-wavelength afterglow observations of the high redshift GRB 050730
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Green J
(2008)
Multibeam maser survey of methanol and excited OH in the Magellanic Clouds: new detections and maser abundance estimates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bravo-Alfaro H.
(2006)
Multifrequency study of the blue compact dwarf Haro 2: NIR imaging and optical spectroscopy
in REVISTA MEXICANA DE ASTRONOMIA Y ASTROFISICA
Jorstad S
(2007)
Multiwaveband Polarimetric Observations of 15 Active Galactic Nuclei at High Frequencies: Correlated Polarization Behavior
in The Astronomical Journal
Fukue T
(2009)
NEAR-INFRARED CIRCULAR POLARIMETRY AND CORRELATION DIAGRAMS IN THE ORION BECKLIN-NEUGEBAUER/KLEINMAN-LOW REGION: CONTRIBUTION OF DICHROIC EXTINCTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kusakabe N
(2008)
NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING POLARIMETRY OF M42: APERTURE POLARIMETRY OF POINT-LIKE SOURCES
in The Astronomical Journal
Tamura M
(2007)
Near-Infrared Imaging Polarimetry of the NGC 2071 Star-Forming Region with SIRPOL
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Sugitani K
(2007)
Near-Infrared Polarimetry of the Eagle Nebula (M 16)
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Jun H
(2007)
Near-Infrared Polarization Images of the Orion Molecular Cloud 1 South Region
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Tamura M.
(2006)
Near-infrared polarization images of the Orion Nebula
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Honda S
(2006)
Neutron-Capture Elements in the Very Metal Poor Star HD 122563
in The Astrophysical Journal
Urquhart J
(2009)
Observational study of sites of triggered star formation CO and mid-infrared observations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Granot J
(2008)
Opacity Buildup in Impulsive Relativistic Sources
in The Astrophysical Journal
Maiorano E
(2006)
Physics of the GRB 030328 afterglow and its environment
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hough J
(2006)
PlanetPol: A Very High Sensitivity Polarimeter
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Boquien M
(2007)
Polychromatic view of intergalactic star formation in NGC 5291
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fynbo J
(2006)
Probing cosmic chemical evolution with gamma-ray bursts: GRB 060206 at z = 4.048
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pillai T
(2007)
Probing the initial conditions of high mass star formation I. Deuteration and depletion in high mass pre/protocluster clumps
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Faria D
(2007)
Probing the Nature of the G1 Clump Stellar Overdensity in the Outskirts of M31
in The Astronomical Journal
Laurikainen E
(2007)
Properties of bars and bulges in the Hubble sequence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kormendy J
(2006)
Pseudobulges in the Disk Galaxies NGC 7690 and NGC 4593
in The Astrophysical Journal
Urquhart J
(2006)
Radio continuum and molecular line observations of four bright-rimmed clouds
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Diaz-Santos T.
(2007)
Resolving the stellar populations in the circumnuclear ring of NGC 7469
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
{Hill}, T. And {Thompson}, M.~A. And {Burton}, M.~G. And {Walsh}, A.~J. And {Minier}, V. And {Cunningham}, M.~R. And {Pierce-Price}, D.
(2006)
SCUBA observations of cold cores (Hill+, 2006)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
{Thompson}, M.~A. And {Hatchell}, J. And {Walsh}, A.~J. And {MacDonald}, G.~H. And {Millar}, T.~J.
(2007)
SCUBA ultracompact HII regions (Thompson+, 2006)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Levan A
(2006)
Short gamma-ray bursts in old populations: magnetars from white dwarf--white dwarf mergers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
{Hill}, T. And {Burton}, M.~G. And {Minier}, V. And {Thompson}, M.~A. And {Walsh}, A.~J. And {Hunt-Cunningham}, M. And {Garay}, G.
(2006)
SIMBA observations of cold cores (Hill+, 2005)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Schinzel F
(2009)
SN 2001em: NOT SO FAST
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chiar J. E.
(2006)
Spectropolarimetry of the 3.4 µm feature in the diffuse ISM toward the Galactic center quintuplet cluster
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Aoki W
(2007)
Spectroscopic Studies of Extremely Metal-poor Stars with the Subaru High-Dispersion Spectrograph. IV. The a-Element-Enhanced Metal-poor Star BS 16934-002
in The Astrophysical Journal
Description | JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey |
Organisation | Leiden University |
Department | Leiden Observatory |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Collaborator Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Impact | See Wilson et al. MNRAS (2012) 424 (4): 3050-3080. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21453.x and references therein. |
Description | JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey |
Organisation | McMaster University |
Department | Department of Physics & Astronomy |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Collaborator Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Impact | See Wilson et al. MNRAS (2012) 424 (4): 3050-3080. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21453.x and references therein. |
Description | JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey |
Organisation | Open University |
Department | School of Physical Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Collaborator Contribution | participated in drafting the proposal; participated in the observations; participated in drafting the science papers |
Impact | See Wilson et al. MNRAS (2012) 424 (4): 3050-3080. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21453.x and references therein. |
Description | Polarimetry for CanariCam |
Organisation | University of Florida |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Design and scientific justification for adding polarimetry to CanariCam, a mid-IR imager for GranTecan. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided the imager/spectrometer |
Impact | Guaranteed time on GranTecan telescope, resulting in publications |
Description | SHADES |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Active SHADES member - observing and scientific input |
Collaborator Contribution | led from Edinburgh |
Impact | about 5 refereed papers |
Description | THINGS, The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey |
Organisation | Max Planck Society |
Department | Max Planck Institute for Astronomy |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-wrote and co-led the collaboration; responsible for the observations and 33% of the calibration and reduction; involved in all science papers |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-wrote and co-led the collaboration; responsible for the observations of the other 66% of the calibration and reduction; involved in all science papers |
Impact | See The Astronomical Journal Article Compilations: http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/page/THINGS |
Description | THINGS, The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey |
Organisation | University of Cape Town |
Department | Department of Astronomy |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-wrote and co-led the collaboration; responsible for the observations and 33% of the calibration and reduction; involved in all science papers |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-wrote and co-led the collaboration; responsible for the observations of the other 66% of the calibration and reduction; involved in all science papers |
Impact | See The Astronomical Journal Article Compilations: http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/page/THINGS |
Description | UH-Japanese polarization survey |
Organisation | National Astronomical Observatory of Japan |
Country | Japan |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provided the polarization modules for the near-IR survey and scientific input |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided the survey telescope and three-channel camera near-IR camera |
Impact | 2013ApJ...765L...6K 2012AAS...22052308K 2011ApJ...741...35K 2010ApJ...722L..23N 2010OLEB...40..335F 2009ApJ...692L..88F 2008AJ....136..621K 2008ApJ...677L..39H 2007PASJ...59..519N 2007PASJ...59..507S 2007PASJ...59..487K |