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
Urquhart J
(2013)
ATLASGAL - environments of 6.7 GHz methanol masers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haan S
(2008)
ATOMIC HYDROGEN PROPERTIES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI HOST GALAXIES: H I IN 16 NUCLEI OF GALAXIES (NUGA) SOURCES
in The Astronomical Journal
Dey L
(2018)
Authenticating the Presence of a Relativistic Massive Black Hole Binary in OJ 287 Using Its General Relativity Centenary Flare: Improved Orbital Parameters
in The Astrophysical Journal
Skowron J
(2011)
BINARY MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2009-BLG-020 GIVES VERIFIABLE MASS, DISTANCE, AND ORBIT PREDICTIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nobuta K
(2012)
BLACK HOLE MASS AND EDDINGTON RATIO DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS OF X-RAY-SELECTED BROAD-LINE AGNs AT z ~ 1.4 IN THE SUBARU XMM-NEWTON DEEP FIELD
in The Astrophysical Journal
Clark J
(2009)
Bolometric luminosity variations in the luminous blue variable AFGL2298
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Racusin JL
(2008)
Broadband observations of the naked-eye gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B.
in Nature
Wang J
(2010)
Chandra High Resolution Imaging of NGC 1365 and NGC 4151
Choi J
(2012)
CHARACTERIZING LENSES AND LENSED STARS OF HIGH-MAGNIFICATION SINGLE-LENS GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS WITH LENSES PASSING OVER SOURCE STARS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shin I
(2012)
CHARACTERIZING LOW-MASS BINARIES FROM OBSERVATION OF LONG-TIMESCALE CAUSTIC-CROSSING GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Coelho P
(2011)
CHEMICAL ABUNDANCE ANTICORRELATIONS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTER STARS: THE EFFECT ON CLUSTER INTEGRATED SPECTRA
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lin Y
(2017)
Cloud Structure of Three Galactic Infrared Dark Star-forming Regions from Combining Ground- and Space-based Bolometric Observations
in The Astrophysical Journal
Molinari S
(2010)
Clouds, filaments, and protostars: The Herschel Hi-GAL Milky Way
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Ilee J
(2013)
CO bandhead emission of massive young stellar objects: determining disc properties?
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
Anderson J
(2009)
Comparisons of the radial distributions of core-collapse supernovae with those of young and old stellar populations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
{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
Cucchiara A
(2011)
CONSTRAINING GAMMA-RAY BURST EMISSION PHYSICS WITH EXTENSIVE EARLY-TIME, MULTIBAND FOLLOW-UP
in The Astrophysical Journal
Anderson J
(2008)
Constraints on core-collapse supernova progenitors from correlations with Ha emission ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Balaguera-Antolínez A
(2012)
Constructing mock catalogues for the REFLEX II galaxy cluster sample Mock catalogues for the REFLEX II sample
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Young D
(2008)
Core-collapse supernovae in low-metallicity environments and future all-sky transient surveys
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mayers Julian A.
(2018)
Correlations between X-ray properties and Black Hole Mass in AGN: towards a new method to estimate black hole mass from short exposure X-ray observations
in arXiv e-prints
Zhang Y.
(2018)
Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: Detection of Intra-cluster Light at Redshift $\sim$ 0.25
in arXiv e-prints
Ando M
(2010)
DECIGO and DECIGO pathfinder
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Ando M
(2009)
DECIGO pathfinder
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Sato S
(2009)
DECIGO: The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Li I
(2011)
Dependence of star formation activity on stellar mass and environment from the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey SFR at z~ 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wiersema K
(2012)
Detailed optical and near-infrared polarimetry, spectroscopy and broad-band photometry of the afterglow of GRB 091018: polarization evolution Polarimetry of the afterglow of GRB 091018
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Venemans B
(2012)
DETECTION OF ATOMIC CARBON [C II] 158 µm AND DUST EMISSION FROM A z = 7.1 QUASAR HOST GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ben-Ami S
(2012)
DISCOVERY AND EARLY MULTI-WAVELENGTH MEASUREMENTS OF THE ENERGETIC TYPE IC SUPERNOVA PTF12GZK: A MASSIVE-STAR EXPLOSION IN A DWARF HOST GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Muraki Y
(2011)
DISCOVERY AND MASS MEASUREMENTS OF A COLD, 10 EARTH MASS PLANET AND ITS HOST STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Holoien T. W. -S.
(2016)
Discovery and Observations of the Unusually Luminous Type-Defying II-P/II-L Supernova ASASSN-13co
in ACTA ASTRONOMICA
Gaudi BS
(2008)
Discovery of a Jupiter/Saturn analog with gravitational microlensing.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Mortlock D
(2009)
Discovery of a redshift 6.13 quasar in the UKIRT infrared deep sky survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zamanov R
(2017)
Discovery of optical flickering from the symbiotic star EF Aquilae
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Starling R
(2011)
Discovery of the nearby long, soft GRB 100316D with an associated supernova Discovery of GRB 100316D
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schaefer B
(2010)
DISCOVERY OF THE PREDICTED 2010 ERUPTION AND THE PRE-ERUPTION LIGHT CURVE FOR RECURRENT NOVA U SCORPII
in The Astronomical Journal
Salaris M
(2011)
Distance indicators from colour-magnitude-diagrams: main sequence, red clump and tip of the RGB
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Ginsburg A
(2018)
Distributed Star Formation throughout the Galactic Center Cloud Sgr B2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Eyres S
(2009)
Double radio peak and non-thermal collimated ejecta in RS Ophiuchi following the 2006 outburst
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kourkchi E
(2012)
Dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster - I. Velocity dispersion measurements?† Coma dwarf galaxies - I. Velocity dispersions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kourkchi E
(2012)
Dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster - II. Spectroscopic and photometric fundamental planes?† Coma dwarf galaxies - II. Fundamental Plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haan S
(2009)
DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF AGN HOST GALAXIES-GAS IN/OUT-FLOW RATES IN SEVEN NUGA GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Collins CA
(2009)
Early assembly of the most massive galaxies.
in Nature
Malesani D
(2009)
EARLY SPECTROSCOPIC IDENTIFICATION OF SN 2008D
in The Astrophysical Journal
Schaefer B
(2011)
ECLIPSES DURING THE 2010 ERUPTION OF THE RECURRENT NOVA U SCORPII
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kobayashi S
(2012)
EJECTION AND CAPTURE DYNAMICS IN RESTRICTED THREE-BODY ENCOUNTERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bradshaw E
(2011)
Environments of active galactic nuclei at z < 1.5 in the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey AGN environments at z < 1.5 in the UKIDSS UDS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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 |